Warframe: Mortal
by Kalenath Shok-Tan
Summary: Mortal means 'subject to death'. It is an open question if Tenno are mortal or not. This is a fanfiction, I own none of the rights to Warframe.
1. Chapter 1

**New**

He didn't feel right. Which made no sense at all. He wasn't supposed to be feeling anything at all. Was he?

As he pondered the feelings, he crept through the Phobos landscape, a silent deadly shadow in a land of shadows. Phobos was far enough from the Sun that in ancient times it had been a bare rock. The light from the star that gave warmth to the cradle of humanity had barely managed to warm the surface temperature of the planetoid at times. But that had been before the Orokin. Before the super science that had transformed the system from anything that anyone of those ancient times would recognize. Planets had been moved, in some cases quite far from where they had been. Others had been altered _significantly_. He remembered reading that once, Uranus had been a gas giant like Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn. Now? It was a world of oceans. Not oceans of _water_ mind you, but oceans none the less.

This rocky planetoid had been far less heavily modified. He wasn't sure how an atmosphere breathable by humans and human like forms -Tenno and Grineer included in that- had been added to something so small. It didn't seem possible to his knowledge of physics and natural law. Then again, he was neither a physicist nor a scientist studying such things. He was Tenno.

Another massive shadow appeared in front of him and he slid to the side, angling to stay out of the Grineer's vision until he could strike. Most of Phobos was permanently in light. Again, he had no idea how. More Orokin science/wizardry no doubt. But not all of it was in light. Some of it was dark and that was the part through which he was creeping.

The hapless Grineer trooper had no idea what was happening as a pair of daggers so sharp that they literally cut _air_ sometimes tore through his armor as if it did not exist. Ether Daggers versus ferrite armor was no contest at all even if the clone had been able to sound a warning, which he hadn't. The clone's killer stood up and paused, contemplating his victim. The Grineer had been standing watch. But for what? There was nothing here. Was there?

The Tenno paused and looked around. The area was a bit different from the surrounding terrain. It was less 'inhabited' if that made any sense at all. The Grineer almost always stamped their boot prints all over an area. On Phobos it was always clear when you were in their zones of control. Their idea of renovations was a huge sprawling camp with heavy artillery guns firing at targets far away. You couldn't even think at times for the pounding of the artillery. But this area was different.

Several of the areas on Phobos obviously predated the Grineer occupation. Grineer structures were ill made and ill maintained piled of metal and technology that worked well enough for the clones. Which wasn't very well most of the time. This however, was an area that was not built by Grineer. The walls and other structures were made of stone. That was odd to say the least. Then again, most of the Grineer technology was falling apart and some of the stone walls had been standing for centuries at the very least from the wind erosion that was evident on them. A line of weathered columns -some still with ancient tatters of banners flying- led into a gaping cave mouth that was just a little too angular to be natural.

The Tenno stared at the dark chasm that led into the cliff face and then shook his head. He had a mission. He didn't have time to sightsee. Which was too bad, he would like to see what lay within. But not until the mission was done. He paused as a very young male voice sounded. He spun, but no one was there. The voice spoke one word, an odd word. 'Inaros.'

 _What did_ **that** _mean?_ The Tenno stilled as a sound came to him. He ghosted back towards the wall as a pack of Grineer strode into view. None of them noticed him where he stood against the wall. All looked nervous. The leader, a Heavy Gunner, sounded irate.

"Another!" The group of Grineer milled around but none of them moved. The hulking Grineer spun to glare at them, her visible expression clear even through her closed armor visor. "Now!"

A Scorpion nodded and moved to where the sentry had stood before. From her posture she wanted to be _anywhere_ but where she was. No sane Grineer disobeyed orders though. It meant a lot of pain at the very least. The Tenno stared as the Grineer patrol moved away, leaving the Scorpion to stand alone and watch... the cave mouth.

 _What the_ **hell** _?_

The Tenno stilled when the Grineer did as another voice sounded.

 _ **You are not welcome here, clone.**_ The voice wasn't -quite- audible, but the clone heard it clearly from her sudden tension. The Grineer did not move and the voice sounded sad. _**Your death comes and you cannot even question it. Can you, Grineer?**_

"Show yourself!" The Scorpion demanded, her whip in hand. " _What are you?_ "

The Tenno stared as the _sand_ around the Scorpion suddenly came to _life_. It surrounded her, almost a pocket sandstorm. It blocked the view of her, but... She screamed once, twice, and then was silent. The sand fell back to the ground and the clone was gone. Only a small discolored patch shone where the Scorpion had stood. Shouts in the distance heralded the return of the Grineer patrol.

"The Queens command!" The Heavy Gunner snapped. "We obey! This place belongs to the Grineer! Enough! We will find this enemy and kill it! _Glory to the Queens!_ "

The Tenno stared as more than one of the Grineer of the patrol _backed away_ as the Gunner led the way into the cave. That was unprecedented in his experience. Grineer obeyed., It was what they were. What they were for. The Grineer leader either didn't notice or didn't care about the three Lancers and the Trooper who were not following her. The others bulked around her and then they were lost in the gloom of the cave. The four disobedient Grineer stared at one another. Then all froze as horrific screams from several voices sounded from the cave. As one, the Grineer took to their heels. It was purely bad luck that one of them blundered into where the Tenno stood by one wall. He never had a chance to scream as the Ether Daggers flashed again. None of the other three even looked back.

The Oberon warframe shook his head, staring at the cave mouth. He did not have time for this. He had to find his target and eliminate it. Maybe afterwards, he would have the chance to investigate. Carefully. He stiffened. He could see nothing out of the ordinary, hear nothing. But he was being scrutinized.

 _ **Go.**_ The voice was now directed at the Tenno who froze. _**You are not welcome here, slave of the sky gods.**_

 _What?_ The Tenno asked. _I don't understand. I am no slave._

 _ **This is your only warning.**_ The other said flatly. _ **This place is protected. Be gone.**_

 _If that is your duty, then so be it._ The Tenno bowed his head. _I have my own._

He bowed to the cave and moved to continue his mission. The Grineer population had to be curbed. Culling them one by one was simply too slow to be effective in any way. So, he was tasked to destroy a reactor that powered a settlement. Either the systems would melt down and kill every clone in the settlement with a burst of radiation or the power would fail and the clones in the place would have to leave, straining life support in other places to the breaking point. Either way, one quick mission and a Grineer settlement would stand empty. It wouldn't stay that way for long, the Grineer would repopulate it within a day at most. But it would provide another hole in the defenses that surrounded Phobos. For Tenno and others. Steel Meridian was active in the area. They couldn't match Grineer numbers but they could -and did- work as guerrilla fighters. Hit and run wasn't very glamorous, but it _was_ very effective. On the plus side? It kept the fighters alive for more fighting.

He did not see a tall misshapen shadow move from the cave to stand over the discolored patch of sand, staring after him oddly. Pensive? When he turned back for a moment, it was gone.

The Tenno who called himself Sean was no stranger to oddness. He had woken in the care of Tenno Intelligence with no memory for goodness sakes! They had been kind in their own way, but he had known that he was a burden to them. Helping him cope with a sudden blank life had demanded their time. None had stinted, but he had known that they had other, more important things to do. As soon as he had been capable, he had gone out into the field, to prove to himself and others that he was still capable. This was his first solo mission and he was determined to succeed. To bring honor to his ancestors and the Lotus.

* * *

Ten minutes later

The settlement was _crawling_ with Grineer. From where he knelt, concealed atop a small mesa overlooking it, he could see at least a hundred of them milling about. Steep odds, but he was Tenno. His weapons were all silent. Odds did not...

 _What the-?_

He froze as a sound impacted his auditory sensors. It was familiar. Liset engines. But this was a solo operation! What were _other_ Tenno doing here? He stared at the Grineer settlement and slumped a bit. They could all hear the engines too even if they couldn't see the approaching ships. They knew what was coming and all of them were now on alert. That screwed any chance of ghosting in and out without making a mess. The Oberon stood and waited as four forms dropped from the sky to land lightly on their feet around him. Excalibur, Volt and Mag. He nodded to them. Two of them... ignored him. They darted off, the Excalibur throwing himself from the edge of the mesa. The Volt activated his speed and took off at a run. He stared after them and then at the Mag who was unlimbering a sniper rifle with Vandal markings. She shrugged and her posture was resigned. She didn't seem any happier with them than he was.

Sean drew his Burston and took up position to cover the Mag. She looked at him and he indicated the camp, kneeling in position to cover her flanks while she fired. He could feel the Mag's scrutiny but then she too took a knee and aimed through her scope. The report of her massive rifle was muted. He looked at her and made a motion.

'Displace?' His curt gesture asked.

Snipers very rarely stayed in one place after they fired. It was safer for them not to fire from the same place too often. She shook her head and Sean nodded even as cries of alarm and pain sounded from the settlement. The other two had reached it and were making a mess. He ignored that. He ignored the repeated sounds of the sniper rifle firing. He focused on the flanks. A Grineer popped into view and Sean's Burston tore through him before him could even see the pair. The rifle was suppressed, but more Grineer would come. Sean made another gesture.

'Being flanked.'

The Mag nodded to him and slung her rifle, a Sicarus pistol appearing in her hand. Not a normal one, a Prime. Powerful enough in the hands of a skilled markswoman which obviously the Mag was. Sean started for the way down but the Mag shook her head again. She nodded to the overhang and Sean nodded. Faster than taking the path. Grineer were climbing the path now, their guttural cries distinct.

The Mag and the Oberon leaped from the edge and were on the ground and moving in moments. It turned out that the Mag's Sicarus was also suppressed. And yes, she _was_ an excellent markswoman. Each burst was right on target, usually center mass with the occasional headshot. She was also well trained. She took one side of their path, Sean took the other and no Grineer that entered their zones of control survived long enough to fire at them.

A new alarm sounded in the distance and the Lotus congratulated them on a mission accomplished. Neither relaxed in the slightest. A countdown appeared on Sean's HUD, the reactor had gone into meltdown. They had four minutes to clear the area. He moved forward a bit faster than he had before and the Mag followed. A new waypoint appeared on his HUD showing the extraction zone. The pair of warframes made good time towards it but they were not stupid about it.

 _Where are you slow fools?_ Someone demanded in the silent Tenno way. Sean ignored it and the Mag did as well. _We will leave you._

 _I know you will._ This had to be the Mag from the female tone. From the vicious bite in her tone, she was fighting a temper. _Then_ **you** _can explain to the Elders why you left us. Again._

 _You are slow._ The other retorted.

 _And you are an ass._ The Mag replied, calmer. _I knew it was a bad idea to come with you after the last time, but the Elders insisted. After all... Even Tenno can learn. Right?_ The scorn in her voice might have cut steel. _Except for_ **you** _._

 _We are leaving._ The other snapped.

 _Go right ahead._ The Mag sounded almost _happy_ with that thought. _Prove to_ **everyone** _that you being in a_ **hurry** _is more important than the_ **lives** _of kin. See if_ _ **anyone**_ _trusts you ever again._ Sean stared at her and she shrugged. There was no reply, but there also was no sound of Liset engines.

'Long story?' He asked in gestures. She nodded. 'Later.' She nodded again.

The only warning was a laugh. It sounded Grineer. Sort of. Before Sean could process what was happening, a form had appeared form nowhere and landed on the Mag who went down in a heap as claws flashed. He couldn't get a clear shot, so he emptied his magazine into the armored form. It jumped off the fallen Mag and vanished.

 _Manic!_ The Mag warned as Sean held his hand over her to restore her warframe. But it was torn almost beyond repair. She wouldn't be able to walk. He shook his head and gathered her up even as she gestured for him to leave her. At least she did not struggle.

 _Good_. The other snarked. _It might make you run faster._

Sean ignored the byplay, starting to lope towards the waypoint that promised safety. He heard laughter again and increased his speed. He altered his course at random from side to side and heard a howl of dismay behind him, but ignored it even as he ran towards were two forms were... Were they _dancing_ in the extraction zone? They were _ignoring_ the fight! They were _ignoring_ the hurt sister he was carrying.

 _Lotus!_ Sean snapped as he entered the extraction zone and the other two suddenly noticed him and his burden. The Volt jerked, almost starting towards Sean and then stopping. The Excalibur just shook his head. _I demand a hearing with the Elders. Two of my kin have proven untrustworthy in battle._ Both of the other warframes stood frozen as Sean carried the stricken Mag to the edge of the cliff. His Liset appeared and the airlock cycled. _Your_ **hurry** _is more important than our sister's_ **life** _. I challenge such a breach of the Code. By the First, I challenge to a duel_ **outside** _of Conclave. I will speak to the Elders, but I_ **will** _meet you in battle. Make your peace with your ancestors._

The Lotus gasped and she was not alone. Such a challenge could _only_ be resolved one way if Sean did not relent. _Death_. His or the two others.

 _You are_ **insane** _._ The one who before had been so mocking and arrogant sounded stunned.

" _I_ am not the one who left a sister to _die_. Who ignored a fellow Tenno's need in battle." Sean said aloud as he moved into his Liset and commanded his Cephalon to begin medical support for her. His words would be transmitted to all who needed to hear them.

"Not for me..." The Mag pleaded as he laid her on the bench reserved for hurt Tenno. Energy started playing over her. "No kin die for me..."

"Not just for you, sister." Sean laid a hand on her warframe and she grasped it tight. "Anyone who will act that way is not following the Tenno Code. They are not untrained striplings, but they _act_ as untrained striplings. This cannot stand or no Tenno will _ever_ be able to trust another. The Code is what we _are_. What we _must_ be. Did they act as the Code demands, sister?"

"No." The voice of the Mag was soft as her wounds were tended. "But I do not want them or you dead."

"I abhor the thought of slaying Tenno." Sean admitted. "But if they will not learn... Sister, what recourse do we have? You said it yourself, they have done such before." He scanned the readouts and slumped a bit. His ship had saved her life, but she needed more care than he could give. He started for the nearest Relay only to pause as she sent him coordinates for a dojo.

"Yes. They did. Take... Take me home. Please?" The Mag said weakly. "I... I am sorry."

"You fought well." Sean said with a smile that faded. "Not your fault that two of your teammates screwed you. But by the Code..."

"They will _not_ do so _again_."


	2. Chapter 2

**Ancient Ways**

Sean docked with the dojo and opened the airlock. He did not react as two Tenno females entered the ship. One wore robes, the other a medical tunic. The medic's eyes were _glowing_. She took one look at the fallen Mag and started cursing softly. She darted to the Mag's side, her face anxious.

"I can carry her if you need." The Oberon said quietly as the robed female looked at him.

"Not yet." The medic said firmly as she pulled medical gear from her belt and started to scan. "How long has she been unconscious?"

"She has been drifting in and out." Sean replied. "Her warframe is badly damaged, but it seems to be healing her some."

"You saved her life." The medic said after a moment. "Thank you."

"She is a sister." Sean gave an awkward shrug. "Tenno are supposed to stick together. Help each other. We are all we have."

"Iriana." The robed one said quietly. "Can she be moved?"

"We should get a gurney or stretcher." The one called Iriana replied absently, her hands flying with various pieces of medical gear. "I don't scan any spinal damage, but she will be heavy. Can we get a gurney in here... um... Sean is it?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Sean said quietly. "I can set the airlock to allow access."

"Please do before Aeron tears a hole in the hull." The robed Tenno said with a frown. Sean stared at her but then nodded. A moment later a Loki warframe pushed a small gurney into the ship. Just from his posture, he was _furious_. "Aeron, she is alive."

"No more, Warlord." The Loki said flatly as he moved to the medic's side. "No more. I will _not_ send her out on her own again. Not with so many people who leave her to her own devices. She simply isn't experienced enough to know when to _leave_ the idiots." Sean stared at the Loki and then at the fallen Mag. The one called Aeron noticed the look and unbent a little. "Thank you for helping her. She... She tries so hard but she is new."

"She is a good Tenno." Sean replied. "What I don't understand... This has happened before?"

"Twice." Aeron's bitten off word was more snarl than explanation.

"It will not happen with those _again_." Sean said flatly and everyone stared at him. "I demanded a duel."

"Conclave?" The medic asked even as she eased the fallen Mag on to the gurney.

"No." Sean felt the tension in the small ship suddenly skyrocket. "They were _dancing_ in the extraction zone instead of covering us. They would have _stood_ _there_ and _watched_ both me and her die." He shook his head. "That is a clear violation of the Code. We are all that we have. We are Tenno. They did not act such. There are consequences for such actions."

"You cannot _kill_ them." The medic said slowly.

"Watch me." Sean's words ended _that_ conversation. The other three stared at each other and then the medic guided the gurney from the ship, the Loki following.

"We are all angry." The robed female said slowly. "Karen is a good Tenno. As Aeron said, this is the third time she has been left on her own. Once she held a cryopod for pickup all by herself when her team went off to do their own thing. The last time... those two left her when she couldn't keep up. She was hit and they couldn't be _bothered_ to assist her." She shook her head. "But killing them won't change anything."

"I fully intend to make it permanent." Sean kept his voice flat even as the robed Tenno recoiled. "They would have done the same if it were me or you." She opened her mouth to protest and Sean beat her to it. "We Tenno are all that we have. If we cannot trust each _other_..." He trailed off and held out his hands helplessly. The other slumped and nodded.

"I am duty bound to ask you to reconsider." The other said slowly. Sean nodded. "Whether you win or lose, we lose kin." Sean nodded again.

"I know. I do not like this either." The Oberon said softly. "But this touches the _core_ of what we are. They would have left her to die. They would have left _me_ to die if I hadn't managed to get her to extraction. If I have to go into the field with either of them again, I will be wondering _when_ they will screw me instead of focusing on the mission. That is dangerous, to do a mission while so distracted."

"The Elders insisted that the pair had learned their lesson." The Mag's Warlord said slowly. Sean just looked at her and she scoffed. "Obviously, if they did, it didn't _take_. I can see your point. Ancestors know, I _agree_. But... Not to the _death_ , Tenno Sean." She pleaded.

"They won't learn." Sean said sadly. "What choice do I have?"

"We can ask the Elders to strip them from fieldwork." The other said quickly. "Punish them again."

"That is what they did last time, no?"Sean asked reasonably. The other didn't want to reply. Sean nodded. "They didn't learn the lesson. I will show them in a way that is impossible to mistake."

"There are too few Warrior Tenno." The robed female said softly. "We cannot lose any more than we have. Not like this."

"We would have lost one, maybe two if they had their way." Sean argued reasonably. "Tenno Karen and myself. How many _more_ of our kin must be put at risk expecting support from those speed obsessed fools?"

"I..." The Warlord of Karen's clan slumped a bit and nodded. "I see the point. I do not like this." She repeated.

"Neither do I." Sean said with a frown. "But I think this has to be done."

"I do not agree. Mortal combat is for enemies, not Tenno." The other said sadly. "But I _can_ see your point of view. How may our clan aid you? You did us a service?"

"The day I expect a _reward_ for helping a hurt sister, I _sincerely_ hope someone _shoots_ me and leaves _me_ to die." Sean said with a growl.

"I know." The other smiled a little. "Which is why we are _offering_. You won't ask, so we must _offer_." Sean chuckled at that and nodded. Obligation worked both ways.

"Now that you mention it... You wouldn't happen to have some parts of a Paris Prime, would you?"

* * *

A bit later

That clan was good people. He was musing about them as he finalized the creation of the Paris Prime. He had acquired the blueprint during a run through an Orokin tower and had found a few other pieces. He wasn't generally a bow user, but he did appreciate them. There were times when an arrow was simply the best choice to send a message silently. Add to that, it was a traditional Tenno weapon. The Paris Prime was fast and powerful so he would give it a try.

They had asked him to stay, but he couldn't. He wouldn't.

Sean was a loner by nature. Whoever or whatever he had been before, now he was more of a lone wolf than a pack hunter. He understood the draw of clans, but he wasn't comfortable around groups. He might never be. For now, it wasn't germane.

He strode to his databank and pulled up every file he could find on Phobos. The oddity that he had encountered before the mess with Karen was bothering him. He keyed in the name he remembered hearing -Inaros- and nothing came up. He frowned and tried several other ways of spelling it. Nothing appeared and he stared at the screen. If he had keyed it in wrong, the search engine _should_ have asked him to clarify. But _nothing_ was appearing. That meant he was pushing edges that he probably should not. Security would be taking notice.

 _Tenno Sean._ He stilled as the Lotus' voice sounded in his head. She sounded tentative, a first in his experience.

 _Lotus._ Sean kept his mental tone calm.

 _A quorum of Elders are ready to speak with you._ The guide of the Tenno said softly. _Tenno Sean, please don't do this._

 _Lotus, they didn't_ **care** _. That is a direct violation of the Code._ Sean bowed his head. _I will meet the Elders. Where and when?_

 _Colony 184 Sierra._ The Lotus sounded nearly in tears. Sean did not like hearing her that way. He didn't love her, at least, he didn't think so. But the affection she felt for Tenno was hard to ignore. _As soon as you can get there._

 _I do this for all of our kin._ Sean said softly as he set course for the colony in question. _I do not like it either. But they would have left both of us to die._

 _I know._ Now the Lotus _was_ crying. _But it hurts, seeing my children fight._

 _I am sorry. If the Elders can find a solution that I can accept, I will take it._ Sean tried to reassure her. _But Lotus, if we cannot trust each other in the field, what good are we against our enemies? We cannot do every mission solo._

 _I understand._ The Lotus' voice was soft, but she wasn't crying anymore. _I truly do. But you... Sean, if you fight both at once, you won't have a chance. You are good, but not two on one._

 _I know._ Sean felt a great weight settle over him. _Lotus, maybe if they have to strike me down it would teach them the lesson they are ignoring?_

 _I... I doubt it._ The Lotus sounded so abject now that Sean was moved to comfort her. It did not come naturally.

 _Lotus, I do not want to die. If there is another way, I will find it._ Sean promised her. Then he switched mental gears. _I encountered an oddity on Phobos before they arrived._

 _What kind of oddity?_ The Lotus sounded downright eager to change the subject and he couldn't blame her.

 _It was weird._ Sean complained. _Nothing I have seen before. The Grineer were guarding a cave mouth. By itself, not remarkable. But something else was warding the cave. I killed one Grineer to get past and a large patrol of Grineer came. They left one and something spoke to the Scorpion before attacking and killing her._

 _Some-_ **thing** _?_ The Lotus asked carefully.

 _I never saw the attacker._ Sean said with a shrug that was wasted since she couldn't see him. Or maybe she could. He wasn't sure and it didn't really matter. _It warned the Grineer off and when the Grineer charged in as they do... Some of them hesitated. Fled the battle._

 _What?_ The Lotus demanded. Sean didn't blame her. Grineer obeyed orders. It was what they _were_. _I think I need to see the records._

 _Download available._ Sean replied, emptying his warframe buffers into the ship's computers. A beep sounded and then a gasp came from the Lotus. Sean waited, but there was no response. _Lotus?_

 _Tenno Sean._ The Lotus actually sounded scared! _Forget what you saw. Forget you heard that name. Forget it._ _Do not continue inquiries. I can fuddle what you did._

 _May I ask why?_ Sean wasn't in the habit of questioning the Lotus, but that seemed... extreme.

 _There are some secrets that must remain secret._ The Lotus said softly. _Some things that no Tenno can know. Things that are so terrible that no one can know. If you pursue this..._ _I don't think even_ **Nikis** _could protect you._ The naked fear in her voice shook him. For _her_ to say _that_... His course was a no-brainer.

 _I see._ Sean swallowed hard and then straightened his shoulders. _I will not pursue that line of inquiry. But Lotus... If others travel through that area, they too will be warned off._

 _If they are_ **lucky** _, they will be warned off._ The Lotus said softly, as if afraid to speak louder.

 _And if not?_

There was no answer.

* * *

Phobos

Steel Meridian strike team Zeta Five was having a very bad day.

Fighting Grineer was never easy. There were simply too many of them for most common tactics to have any chance of success. Tenno could fight the hordes of clones on equal terms but very few others had that ability. Steel Meridian had a solid core of fighters. Some of them had originally been Grineer, but had either deserted or left the Queen's service some other way. Other members were humans fed up with the Grineer running roughshod over everything. _Some_ chance to strike back was better than none.

But...

Steel Meridian was -at its base- a guerilla organization. It couldn't match even a small Grineer force man for clone or firepower for firepower. So they relied on sneakiness instead. They were not as vicious as the Red Veil. Not that Grineer had civilians to target, but still Steel Meridian had limits beyond which they would not go. More accurately, limits beyond which their High Command would _vehemently_ disapprove crossing. And since their High Command was composed mostly of Grineer deserters, being who had survived time as Grineer soldiers and _then_ time on their own surviving against all odds, no one really wanted to push them too far. The leader in particular was well known for her accuracy. She seemed to _will_ her Marlok round onto their targets.

Unfortunately, she wasn't on this mission.

The plan had been simple. The best plans always were. Get in, blow up some infrastructure, get out. Simple. That did _not_ make it _easy_. They had done the job but then _every_ Grineer in the area had converged on the small team of fighters. They had started with a crew of five. Now, there were three of them and all of them wounded as they fell back yet again.

"Too many! Running low on ammo!" Cally called as she fired her Vaykor Hek over and over. Each blast punctuated the death of at least one clone but none of the Steel Meridian fighters had access to the fantastic tech that Tenno took for granted. She darted form pillar to pillar, seeking the refuge of a cave that had appeared in the near distance. "Ahead! Cover!"

"Go!" Kort snapped as he tore off a long burst from his Grakata. He was the senior surviving operative. Three clones fell, but one struggled to its feet, firing back. Simon, the other member of the group, did not speak, simply picked off target after target with precise shots from his Marelok.

Cally ran for the cave, shots from the Grineer nipping at her heels as she threw herself into the darkness. She spun, her Hek ready as the others followed her, but... The Grineer did not pursue. A few of them fired at the cave, but none of them approached.

"What the-?" Cally asked nobody as the team leader staggered to the wall and leaned against it. "They are not coming in."

"Well, we cannot go out that way." Kort said as he turned to Simon who shook his head. "Further in?"

"No choice." Cally took a deep breath and started into the earth. "Extraction will not wait for us, will they?" She asked, her tone not expecting good news.

"No." Kort agreed. "I got the com when William went down. I can call for a new one, but we need to break contact first. Any idea where we are?" He took several deep breaths and followed her.

"A cave." Simon said flatly. The others looked at him but he wasn't joking as he brought up the rear. Then again, he had very little sense of humor at the best of times, which these were not.

None of them noticed a series of small dark blobs moving along the floor near the walls. Pacing them. The gloom felt oppressive and all three had weapons ready as they moved.

"This... isn't a natural cave." Cally said dubiously as they walked. Kort had to agree. The walls were just a little too regular to be made by any kind of natural force and regular opening were appearing now. Cross corridors? Rooms? Hard to say. She froze in place as she realized something. "Where is Simon?" The pair stopped and looked about, but the pistoleer was gone! Cally shook her head. "How bad was he hit?"

"It was bad, but not mortal." Kort said softly. He stepped back and stared at the ground. The blobs froze in place before he looked their way and he saw nothing. "No blood trail. He didn't crawl off to die alone."

"So what _happened_ to him?" Cally demanded angrily. "We cannot leave him here. He is one of us."

"I don't know." Kort replied. Then he screamed in pain as part of the darkness beside him reared up and grabbed him. "Cally! Run!"

She ignored his command, firing at the shadow as it closed around her compatriot. But before she could pull the trigger twice, the shadow -and Kort- were gone. Had she hit either? She couldn't be sure. Cally stared at where he had been and then at the floor. Her breath was coming in gasps as she spun here and there, weapon tracking everywhere she looked. Nothing seemed out of ordinary though.

 _ **Human.**_ The voice was wrong and it was _everywhere_. _**You should not be here.**_

"Who are you? _Where_ are you?" Cally demanded. "Give me back my friends!"

 _ **You fight the clones.**_ The other sounded confused. _**But you are human. You should not fight.**_

"Who will if I don't?" Cally demanded, stalking along the cave now. She had no chance against a foe that could take Simon and Kort so easily. All she had was her courage.

 _ **I will.**_

She had a bare moment to scream as the shotgun was yanked from her hands and stone hard hands grasped her head and arm, pulling her down to her knees. She couldn't see her captor. What she could see were the mass of beetles that were marching relentlessly towards her.

Cally was tough. She didn't start to scream until the mass of beetles scuttled up and over her and a sharp pain erupted behind her ear. When her screams faded, the corridor was empty.


	3. Chapter 3

**Making Rebels  
**

Cally was dreaming. She had to be.

She was lying on a hard surface. She wasn't wearing anything but a gossamer thin gown of some kind. It was blue and left very little to the imagination. She wasn't armed and she couldn't move. Things she could not see were crawling all over her, but nothing hurt now. The back of her head near the neck was sore, but the soreness was fading. A dark shadows moved nearby and she felt fear rise, but it faded. She couldn't see the form clearly, but it wasn't human.

"I will not harm you, human." The voice was the same as before, but less frightening. "It has been long since humans graced these halls. Only the clones and the slaves of the sky gods pollute this place now. I must cleanse it. But you..." A misshapen hand reach out of the shadow to touch her cheek. "You are afraid. Do not fear, human. What is your name?"

She fought not to respond, but her mouth opened of its own accord. "Cally." Her voice was calm and firm, but she wasn't the one speaking! Was she?

"Cally. Pretty name." The other sounded... Cally wasn't sure how he sounded. "We will call you 'Callisto'. A proper name for a matriarch. It was a name of a princess in mythology."

"Matriarch?" Cally wasn't sure how her voice could be so calm, so level as hulking forms of stone appeared around her. Some were carrying burdens. "Princess?"

"We serve, we do not rule. We need a ruler. You will rule." The other said as if that were perfectly sensible and sane. Cally felt fear blossom again and this time whatever was holding it back could not stop it as darkness swelled around her, seeping towards her as if alive.

"No." Cally begged as the darkness touched her. It felt odd. Like dirt? Or sand. Whatever she was lying on was morphing as she lay, surrounding her. It didn't hurt.

"Rest now. You will feel better when you wake, Matriarch."

The other came into the light and Cally drew in a sudden breath at the sight of the odd looking form. Was that a warframe? If so, it wasn't any she had ever seen. She was trying to speak, trying to struggle as a mask was laid over her nose and mouth, something went hiss and darkness carried her away.

* * *

"Inaros!"

Matriarch Callisto jerked awake from a nightmare only to relax as the protector of the colony stepped into the light. She took two deep cleansing breaths as she scrutinized herself and her surroundings. Her room was the same as when she had gone to sleep. A mess. She would have to see to repairs sometime soon. If the rest of the colony was in the same shape... she and her people had their work cut out for them.

"I am here, Matriarch." The voice of the colony's protector was calm. "Are you well?"

"I had a nightmare." Callisto said as she sat up on her bed. The stone was comfortable with the nanotech that had helped the colony survive for so long. "I was... Ah, it is fading." She smoothed her sleeping gown with shaking hands. One hand went to her skull and the familiar headdress of the Matriarch comforted her. It was far more comfortable than it looked. "I was... a soldier? Fighting... a war? No. I don't know."

"Nightmares are subconscious images pulled to the fore by the sleeping human brain. They very rarely make sense." Inaros replied easily as he touched her shoulder and her fear faded. "Be at ease, Matriarch. You are safe."

"But the colony has failed." Callisto said sadly, staring around at the bedchamber that had once been wonderful, if rustic. Now? It was a true ruin, showing centuries of neglect.

"I have consulted what I could. The sky gods are no more." Inaros replied evenly. Callisto turned to stare at him and he shrugged. "I did not do it. Their own hubris defeated them. We can rebuild, Matriarch. So we must."

"You always were a ray of hope, Inaros." Callisto felt weariness rise. She slumped back to the bed and relaxed as colony's warden covered her with a blanket. "But it is so quiet here. I miss the cries of children at play. What must I do?"

"Rest for now." Inaros said gently. "This place will sound with children at play once more. I swear it, Matriarch."

* * *

He watched with no small satisfaction as the human matriarch fell asleep once more. She was perfect. Strong and young enough to withstand the changes that would be needed. The fact that the headdress she wore was rewiring her brain so that in a matter of a few more hours, she wouldn't remember anything of her past life was a minor concern. He was not enslaving her. He was freeing her.

"Why? Why do this?" A pain filled voice sounded from nearby and he turned to see the first human he had captured was halfway out of the restraints again. A very resourceful sort, he would make a good guardian for the matriarch once he was altered properly. "What did we do to you?"

"You did nothing, human." The guardian of the colony stepped forward and tightened the restraints. "Stop fighting. She will need you. If you do not fight the change, it will be far easier." He tapped the scarab behind the man's ear, ignoring the cry of pain as the mechanized beetle burrowed through flesh and bone again to fulfill its program. To control. In moments, the only sounds the man could make were sobs and those tapered off. "You will be her Cerberus. Her guardian. Her shield against the uncaring universe. I will defend you, but _you_ must defend _her_."

"This is wrong!" The man managed to exclaim and then he gasped and fell still.

Inaros nodded to one of the servants and the stone colossus moved to take the human to the alteration chamber. There he would sleep and wake a productive member of the colony. Only after everything else was done did Inaros turn to the last human. His heart was heavy as he stared at the still form. The human had managed, somehow, to retain his weapon. When it had proven ineffective against the stone servant who had held him, he had turned the weapon on _himself_. The result was gory.

"There was no need for that." Inaros said sadly as he held a hand over the fallen human. "I will not let you pass. Come, human. We will repair your form. But you need time to heal, both mentally and physically." A half heard, half sensed scream of agony sounded as energy traced from the fallen human into the warframe's gauntlet. It cut off abruptly and Inaros turned to look at the bloody form. "Take the body to repair. We will work on his mind while he sleeps. He will be our Aesculapius. Our Surgeon."

There was no reply as the stone form carried the dead human body to be repair. Without its motive energy, they could do drastic changes to the form with no fear of causing long term harm. He would wake with no memory of his past, just a desire to aid others in building the future.

"We need more humans." Inaros mused as he focused on the energy he held. The human slept in his virtual cell and while he slept, the changes to his mind would take root. There was no hurry now. Callisto was alive. The other was alive. This one would be alive again shortly. Inaros would keep them that way. "We need to repair this place and to do that, we need more humans. The Grineer keep slaves... I wonder..."

He strode from Callisto's chamber thinking hard.

* * *

Four hours later

There was no warning. None.

One moment, the sands of Phobos were still and quiet, the Grineer patrols plodding their endless circuits. The next, the sands themselves came to life and swept through the area as if alive. None of the Grineer in the area had any defense or any _chance_. It wasn't a battle. It was a _slaughter_.

"Mem, what is happening?" A little boy of maybe five years cried as the gate of the camp they had been taken to fell in a screech of tearing metal.

"Mem is here!" The child's mother grabbed her son and held him tight as sands roared around them. The inhabitants of the camp, the hundred or so wretches that the Grineer had left anyway, huddled together against the sandstorm's fury. "Be strong!" She begged her son even as tears fell.

This was the end, she knew it. The storm howled around them, but... it did not touch them. She could hear screams from the hated clones, but none of the screams of her fellow prisoners were of _pain_. One of her fellows, a sorry excuse for a human who had been driven more than a little mad by his ordeals, ran. He managed three steps and then his scream cut off with dreadful finality.

 _ **Stay where you are, humans.**_ The voice came from nowhere. It was wrong. It _felt_ wrong. _**You will be guided from this place to a refuge.**_

"Who are you?" The boy's mother begged.

 _ **I am Inaros.**_

* * *

The pitch black Nekros stood alone, watching from afar as the Grineer slave camp fell apart under the sandstorm. As he suspected, when the sands finally died, the only sign of where the camp had been was a trampled area in the sand. Of the hundred plus prisoners and assorted guards, there was no sign.

"Show off." Nikis said sourly. Then he turned to go but paused as a statue appeared nearby animated by more than wind. "Don't even _think_ it." The Guardian of the Dead warned, his hands on his pistols.

 _ **Nikis...**_ Inaros' voice was warm. _**I figured you dead by now, you old fossil.**_

"Many have tried." The Nekros said sourly. "Do you have _any_ idea the _shitstorm_ you coming back is gonna raise? I won't fight you. I swore not to. But _geez_ , man!"

 _ **I never intended to cause problems, Nikis.**_ Inaros sounded sad now. _**You know that, right?**_

"Yeah, I know that." Nikis sounded pensive now. "And god only knows, I _agreed_ with you. What they were doing to those kids was _wrong_. But what _you_ did..." A sigh came from nowhere and Nikis matched it.

"What was I to _do_ , Nikis?" The other asked softly. "He was alive, conscious and crying for his mother. They were going to dissect him then and there with no anesthesia. I had seen them do it before. I couldn't let them do it again. What did they gain from that?"

"Nothing." Nikis agreed. "They just kept taking the kids, saying it was 'research'. It wasn't. Just some Orokin on a power trip. People who liked hearing kids scream. They are all gone, Inaros. The Empire fell."

"So I have discerned. I stayed here, Nikis." Inaro's tone was milder now. "I stayed until they destroyed my form. And even then, the energy was saved." He paused. " _You_ didn't..." He trailed off.

"No comment." Nikis said flatly. "And that means 'No comment'. I can neither confirm nor deny if one of other Guardians of the Dead was involved in your survival and I am not going to try."

"You haven't changed much, you cantankerous old fart. Still secrets within secrets." Inaros had a smile in his voice as his form appeared nearby. Then he sobered. "What are your intentions?"

"You rebelled against the Orokin." Nikis said flatly. "You killed several of them and fought us. Far as I am concerned, killing the scum was a service to everyone. But..."

"I know." Inaros said calmly. "I rebelled. I denied my duty in the name of justice. That doesn't excuse what I did, but I would do it again."

"Damn it, man!" Nikis swore mildly. "Why did you have to find a freaking _conscience_?" Inaros shrugged and Nikis sighed. "I don't really blame you and as long as you leave mine alone, I won't _fight_ you." Inaros bowed to the Guardian of the Dead. "Touch _any_ of mine and there will be a reckoning."

"Nikis." Inaros said softly. "The humans I found in the cave were all dying. The ones I took from the Grineer wouldn't have lived out the week. I have no intention of leaving the colony. Tell whoever you must that. If I find humans in distress, I will do what I can for them. But they will not leave my domain." Nikis stiffened and Inaros hurried to speak. "I will give them a good life, Nikis. That is more than most can say."

"You alter them against their will." Nikis said flatly. "The humans you take."

"Nikis..." Inaros said slowly. "The first ones I found were as good as dead. They had no way out. So yes. All three of them. I gave them a home. One they can enjoy."

"You touch _any_ other Tenno and I will have your _head_." The ice cold fury in Nikis' tone might have stopped a tide in its tracks. Inaros nodded. "Otherwise, I will not fight you, but I will not _protect_ you either. There are Caretakers of the Unclean out and about as well. If they identify as such, they too are under my protection. Touch _them_ and there will be no mercy."

"Nikis..." Inaros protested. "Am I to ignore _Infested_?"

"No." Nikis snarled. "If Caretakers show, they will identify themselves. I don't want to have to clean up the mess again. Don't _make_ me. Do not leave the colony and for god's sake, leave Tenno _alone_."

"If they come after me?" Inaros asked slowly.

"Disable them. I know you can." The Grandmaster of the Dead said with a snap. "Do that and call me to arrange a pickup. Alter any of _them_ and all bets are _off_." The threat in his tone had claws.

"I understand, Guardian of the Dead." Inaros said softly, bowing formally to the Nekros. "I will abide by your restrictions. I don't want to fight you either."

"You were my best student, Inaros." Nikis sounded sad now. "But I will protect my own."

 _ **As will I.**_ The form of Inaros vanished into sand and was gone.

"Showoff." Nikis muttered sourly as he turned to go.

 _ **Takes one to know one.**_

* * *

"This... place..."

The woman with the boy was reeling as she was led to a chair by a man in armor. The room was huge. The decor was ancient, but looked functional.

"Sit milady." The armored man took the boy from her arms and the boy reached for her as she sat. She gave a small gasp and relaxed. Her eyes closed and her son cried out in fear as tiny dark forms scuttled over her.

"Mem!" The boy struggled, but the man holding him soothed his fear.

"It is all right, boy. She is all right." The armored man's words were kind and the boy relaxed in his arms. "She is exhausted. She needs sleep. _You_ need a meal and sleep yourself."

"Need to stay with Mem." The boy protested. "Lost Da and Sis. Lost everyone. Can't lose Mem too."

"You won't." The boy stilled in the armored man's arms as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen strode into view. She wore a long blue gown of some kind and wore an odd thing on her head, but it only enhanced her beauty. She was carrying a tray filled with bowls that steamed. "I was about to break my fast." She said with a smile as she set the tray on a table nearby and indicated a pair of chairs next to it. "Join me?"

"I... shouldn't talk to strangers." The boy said meekly. He perked up as the woman laughed. She had a wonderful laugh.

"Good policy." The woman sat and nodded to the chair. The armored man carried the boy over. "So let's not stay strangers then. My name is Callisto. You?" The boy relaxed as the armored man set him in the chair and moved to stand behind the woman's chair.

"Mem calls me Pip." The boy said weakly, staring at the bowls in front of him. "I... I shouldn't."

"You are nothing but skin and bones, boy." Callisto said softly, taking a spoon to taste her food. "You need food. Your Mem will wake up hungry. She will need you."

"I..." Pip shook his head. "This isn't like anything I know. I don't know how to eat that." The admission shamed him, but Callisto just nodded.

"Do as I do, Pip." Callisto held up her spoon until Pip picked up his. She filled her spoon ad carefully put it in her mouth. Pip tried to do the same, but dropped some of it. His face flamed and Callisto sighed. She filled a spoon and held to out to him. "It takes practice. Give it a taste."

The boy was careful and took the bite, trying it in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it with a smile that Callisto shared. He slumped in his chair as the mild sedative she had managed to put on the bite took effect. His eyes rolled back in his head. Callisto was at his side in an instant, checking his vitals.

"So young." Callisto said sadly as she gathered the boy up in her arms. Her personal scarabs flowed over him, seeking injuries and finding nothing major. Just exhaustion and malnutrition. "He will need more than a meal."

"Yes, Milady." The guard, Cerber, said calmly.

"Is the Surgeon free?" Callisto smoothed the boy's hair on his head and he whimpered in his sleep.

"The others have many injuries, milady." Cerber said with a frown. "The boy and his mother are exhausted and far too thin, but not injured otherwise aside from bruises and some superficial cuts. Some of the others are in danger. Surgeon will be busy for several hours at least. He has selected an assistant."

"Then I will handle these." Callisto said calmly, sitting down in the chair with Pip on her lap. Her scarabs retreated from his view, but continued to soothe his body. "Hey. Pip. Wakey wakey."

"What?" Pip jerked, but did not struggle in Callisto's arms. "I fell asleep." Shame sounded but Callisto gave him a hug.

"That is not your fault, Pip." Callisto reach out to take Pip's spoon. She filled it and held it out to him. "Here. Let me help you. Then you need a bed."

"You are not my Mem." Pip protested, but did not resist as she fed him.

"No, but I can stand in for her." Callisto promised. "I want kids myself so I will need practice." She smiled and Pip returned it hesitantly. But then he looked fearful. "Pip?"

"Can we stay here?" Pip begged. "I want to _stay_ here!" Callisto smiled and hugged him.

"Oh yes."


	4. Chapter 4

**Right** _ **and**_ **Wrong**

Sean was a patient being. Tenno had to be on occasion. But this was really starting to get to him.

"...and we did nothing wrong!" The Excalibur who he still had not bothered to get the name of was blathering again. He had been talking almost non-stop since Sean had arrived, saying the exact same thing. The five Elders who had assembled to hear the case did not look any happier than Sean felt.

"Nothing... wrong...?" The grey bearded Elder who had introduced himself as Mavri asked in a mild voice when the Excalibur paused for a breath. At least the idiot wasn't so much of a fool to _interrupt_ an Elder.

"No!" The Excalibur snapped. He stilled as the Volt beside him laid a hand on his arm. "Back off, Mik! I am in the right!"

"No, you are not." The Volt said softly. "Come off it, José. Calm down and let the Elders talk." The Excalibur jerked his arm from under the Volt's hand, shaking his head and the Volt sighed. "Fine." To Sean's amazement, the Volt stepped from the Excalibur's side and went to one wall where he knelt and bowed his head. "I accept judgment, Elders."

"What are you _doing_?" José sounded as stunned as Sean felt. "We agreed!"

"No." The one called Mik said softly. " _You_ agreed for _me_. _I_ want nothing to do with this anymore. You are my brother but not for the first time, I am _ashamed_ of you. And I am ashamed of _me_ for _following_ you, trying to keep you out of trouble. No more. I am done following you into stupidity." José recoiled at that but the Volt wasn't done. "You would have left them both to die and felt nothing about it. I am done defending you. I was wrong, Elders, Tenno Sean. I accept whatever you decree."

"Mik!" The Excalibur snapped, only to pause as Mavri shook his head.

"We will talk, Tenno Mik." Mavri said kindly. "Go and refresh yourself." The Volt rose, bowed to the Elders and left the room. Mavri slumped a bit as he looked at the Excalibur who stood frozen. "Well... _one_ with sense."

"They were slow." José snapped. "I have the right to do missions my way."

"No one is denying that." Mavri sounded tired now and all of the other Elders looked as if they wanted to be _anywhere_ but where they were. "There is a very old saying though. ' _Your_ right to free speech ends at _my_ nose.' It is apt." Sean didn't react as the Excalibur goggled at Mavri. "You hurt other Tenno with your antics and you are happy to do so. You would _kill_ other Tenno if you could get away with it. Tenno Sean, your challenge is unwelcome, but we can all see the reason for it."

"He is insane!" José sounded between rage and fear.

"No." Mavri's voice was reflective now. "He is _angry_. As am I. I trusted you when you said you had changed. That is _my_ mistake. One I will _not_ make again." He rose from his seat and turned his back on the Excalibur. When he folded his arms, it was formal. He would listen no more.

"What?" José sounded stunned now. Mavri ignored him. Indeed, it was if the Excalibur had ceased to exist in the room. "No." He turned to the other Elders, but as one, they all rose and turned their backs on him and folded _their_ arms. "No!"

"You are better than your peers." Sean worked hard to keep his tone level, without a hint of mockery. "That is what you wanted, no? Of course, it is because you are _alone_ , but hey. You _are_ better."

"You..." The Excalibur seemed incoherent.

"As challenged party, _you_ may choose the weapons." Sean said softly. " _I_ choose when and where. Antarctic continent, Earth." He rattled off a series of coordinates. Far enough from the Citadel to not interfere with them and remote enough that no Grineer should pay any attention."Tomorrow at 0500 standard time. I will ask a Guardian of the Dead to attend us in accordance with the Code to make it permanent whoever wins. Make your peace."

"I won't fight you outside of Conclave!" José snapped.

"Then you will _die_." Sean bowed to the Elders and left the room. He was only a little surprised to find the Volt standing just outside.

"Tenno Sean." The Volt bowed formally. "I give apology."

"For myself, I accept." Sean replied just as formally. "But I am not the only one you owe an apology to. Speed _can_ be a good thing, brother." He said sadly.

"Or it can be an addiction." Mik was just as sad now. "I think that is my problem. Maybe José's too. I... I didn't even think she was _hurt_. I didn't check her status on my HUD. She might not have been able to revive with the radiation going nuts there."

"That was my thought as well." Sean slumped a bit. "I don't want to do this, brother. But I have no choice now. He won't accept that he was in the wrong, so I have to deal with this the _old_ way. I will."

"I know. I don't like it, but I _do_ understand." Mik swallowed hard. "He and I have worked together for some time. He isn't evil. Just thoughtless."

"I know." Sean agreed. "The Elders wouldn't have let an evil person back out into the field. Talk to Sister Karen. But be warned, her clan are angry and the one called Aeron is _furious_."

"Ouch." Mik winced dramatically as he rubbed his leg. Sean looked at him and Mik gulped. "When it happened before, I didn't even realize she wasn't with us until we got to extraction. José mouthed off to that one and he shot both of us before either of us realized he had drawn." Sean jerked and Mik shook his head. "Not lethal, but it hurt like hell. I didn't know until later that Tenno Karen was his adopted daughter."

"No one to anger." Sean shuddered.

"No." Mik agreed. "I will make my peace with her and them. I will do whatever restitution the Elders decide. I wish... I wish José would listen, but listening was never his strong suit."

"The thought of killing another Tenno makes me ill." Sean sighed. "But without the Code, what are we?"

"I know." Mik bowed formally to Sean again. "If it comes to it, do not turn your back on him. Even for a second. He will take advantage."

"Win or lose, we _all_ lose. I must prepare myself." Sean bowed back just as formally. It helped a little. "Be well, Tenno Mik. Be true to the Code." Sean started off one way and the Volt went another. Then the Oberon stilled as a pitch black form stepped into his path. Nikis was _not_ happy. Sean bowed. "Grandmaster. You heard." It wasn't a question.

"Idiots." Nikis fumed. "The _lot_ of you are fricking **_idiots_**!" There wasn't really anything Sean could say to that. It was true, if a bit unfair. Nikis stared at him and then groaned. "Calm down, boy. Ain't gonna shoot you. Not just _yet_ anyway."

"He won't listen to the Elders and he won't change, Grandmaster." Sean said softly. "What choice do I have? He would have left us both to die."

"Hard to prove without a body." Nikis grunted. Sean bristled but wisely kept his mouth shut and the ancient Nekros shook his head. "Ain't saying you are wrong. God knows from what I have seen, you are right. But... Proving someone's _intent_ is far harder than proving their _actions_. Words and actions are _not_ the same thing."

"I know, Grandmaster." Sean bowed his head. "I do not want this. Perhaps I spoke in haste, but... Grandmaster... His words were damning."

"I know." For once, there was no anger in Nikis' tone, only deep sadness. "I reviewed the record on my way here. I would have done the same. Hell..." He shrugged. "Probably would have shot him on the spot and left _him_ there." Sean didn't reply and Nikis snorted. "People like that tick me off."

"Is there _anyone_ who _doesn't_ tick you off, Nikis?" Mavri's quizzical voice sounded from nearby and both turned to see the Elder standing at the door. His smile was wan, but it was there.

"Not many, come to think of it." Nikis admitted. "Iriana maybe...?" He mused. Then he shook his head. "Nah, she has ticked me off too. Worse was, she was right." Mavri looked like he had swallowed a bug as he fought a chuckle and Nikis wagged a finger at him. "You hush."

"I didn't say anything." The Elder had 'artful innocence' down to a science it seemed. Nikis just shook his head.

"Good, don't. I need to talk with you anyway." Nikis said after a moment. "We have trouble coming."

"You need to talk to me specifically?" Mavri asked. Nikis shook his head and the Elder's eyes went huge. "The Elders...as a _whole?_ "

"Yeah." Nikis tone was soft. Sean fought not to stare. Was the ancient Nekros _worried_? "Might as well bring him too." He nodded to Sean. "He found 'im."

"Found _who_?" Mavri asked, clearly worried if Nikis was.

"Inaros." Nikis said softly. Sean was not expecting the Elder to recoil suddenly, nearly to fall over. He extended a hand and the Elder took it to stand upright. The Tenno leader was _shaking_. Nikis nodded. "Yeah. I told him if he touched a Tenno, my oath was abrogated."

"Well... that is _something_." Mavri swallowed hard. "He respects you."

"He is scared of me." Nikis corrected. "With reason, but that won't stop him if he thinks it is the right thing to do. Never did before. Won't now." Nikis heaved a sigh. "It hurts, you know. He was a good kid. Then it all went wrong."

"I don't know the whole story." Mavri said slowly as he patted Sean's hand and the Oberon released him to stand on his own. "What I do know is a horror."

"He meant well." Nikis wasn't talking to them it seemed, the Nekros was staring off at something only he could see. "But he went too far. Too much publicity. Too much money involved for it to be hushed up. Stupid Orokin had to push 'im... I warned 'em. Hell, _Hayden_ warned 'em." He shook his head. "We need to tell everyone to stay _away_ from that part of Phobos."

"Nikis..." Mavri swallowed. "Can we stop him if it comes to it? I know how many it took before." Sean stared from one to the other as Nikis shrugged.

"I don't know." Nikis admitted. "It took a whole team before to keep it from spilling out across the system when he fell. Eight of the First." Sean froze and Nikis nodded. "Two were badly wounded and we just about lost Ember doing it."

"This Inaros is a renegade?" Sean breathed. Nikis tilted his head in thought. Both of the others waited. One did _not_ rush the Grandmaster of the Dead.

"No and yes." Nikis finally said. "He never broke with the Code. He broke with the _Orokin_ ordering him to do things that he found morally repugnant. He never wanted to fight us. _We_ never wanted to fight _him_."

"What happened?" Sean asked when Mavri looked away. "If that is not classified or anything?"

"Not classified." Nikis said softly. "Just painful. Inaros was a straight shooter. Not entirely by the book all the time, but he had solid core of ethics. There were limits beyond which he would not go. The Orokin pushed him past those limits. I ain't gonna rehash what they did. I bet we will when Mavri gets the others in on this and once will be enough. Because of what they did, he flipped out. He went native with a group of isolated humans. We were told to go after him and bring him to Orokin justice. When he explained what had happened, we told those lousy Orokin scum to fuck off."

"You..." Sean swallowed as Mavri nodded. "And then?"

"The idiots sent assassins after him." Nikis said with a sigh. "Worked about as well as when they sent them after _me_." At that, Mavri choked on what had to be a laugh. "Laugh it up while you can, boy. This is serious. He is doin' it _again_."

"How many?" Mavri asked, his face pale.

"Dunno." Nikis said flatly. "He took a Grineer slave depot, killed the guards and took the slaves. I talked to him just after and he said there was another group, so... No idea." He shrugged. "Thing is, he won't _hurt_ humans if they don't attack him first. He never _did_."

"So what is the problem?" Sean asked carefully. Mavri and Nikis looked at each other but it was the Nekros who responded.

"He won't let them leave and after a few days, none of them will _want_ to leave." Sean thought about that and then jerked. Nikis nodded.

"Yeah. He is forming another cult."

* * *

Phobos

"Pip?"

Callisto turned her head to see Pip's mother awake. She was still in the chair but her face was far more alive than it had been when she had sat down. Callisto put a finger to her lips as she looked down at Pip, fast asleep in her lap.

"I just got him to sleep." Callisto whispered. "I got him to eat and now he is asleep. Cerber, is the bed ready?" Her guard nodded and reached for the boy. Callisto let the guard take him, she knew he wouldn't hurt Pip. The boy's mother stifled a cry of alarm, but Callisto rose and went to her. "Cerber is gentle. We have a bed set up nearby for him and one for you. It has to be more comfortable than the chair."

"Who are you?" The woman begged. "Where are we?" She tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't support her. "What have you done to me?"

"You are weak from malnutrition and exhaustion." Callisto said, reaching for the woman's hands. "We can help. We will help. Pip is actually in better shape than you are. Were you feeding him from your rations? He needs you. Will you let us help you?"

"I don't even know your name." The woman was nearly in tears.

"Easy to fix." Callisto said with a smile. "I am Callisto, matriarch of this colony. You are?"

"Ellen." The other replied. "And Pip's real name is David, but I never call him that." Her return smile was tremulous, but heartfelt.

"He is a good kid." Callisto looked and Cerber was done putting Pip to bed. "You need more sleep. Would you like to eat something first?"

The woman did not notice the scarabs that swept off of her. She never felt the one that had attached behind her ear. More a vital signs monitor than anything else, it allowed for direct access to her brain. Gentle sedation if needed or a bit of a nudge in certain directions. None of that would hurt her.

"Yes." Ellen said softly. Callisto pulled her up and steadied her as she wobbled. "Pip needed the food. I was... It was..." She was crying as Callisto led her to the table and helped her sit.

"It is all right." Callisto said gently as she sat beside the crying woman, still holding her hands. "You are safe. Pip is safe. This place is hidden and we welcome you to our refuge."

"I..." Ellen slumped as Callisto's kindness did it's magic. "Ever since they took us, it was all running and screaming. I... I am afraid. Pip was sick." Callisto frowned but nodded.

"I will have Surgeon take a look at him when the man gets free." Callisto promised. At Ellen's confused look, Callisto smiled. "Surgeon is our healer. He is very good but he is also very busy with all of the others who were brought in with you. Ah." She smiled again as Cerber laid a tray with steaming bowls in front of Ellen. "Lunch is served. I don't think I will need to feed you as I had to feed Pip."

"You fed him?" Ellen asked, her tone halfway to outrage.

"He needed the nourishment and I was free." Callisto gave Ellen's hands a squeeze. "I am not trying to _steal_ him, Ellen." She chided the other woman gently. "I wanted to _help_."

"I..." Ellen couldn't take it. She burst into tears again. Callisto sighed and moved to sit on Ellen's chair, holding the woman as she sobbed.

"There, there, dear." Callisto soothed the distraught woman. "It's all right. You are all right. Pip is all right. Your ordeals are _over_. You need a meal and then you need rest. We will help you. Come on. Can you eat?"

She kept her tone soft and gentle as Ellen fought to control herself. A soft nudge to the woman's cortex and Ellen managed to regain control. She nodded and reached for the utensils. Callisto retreated to her chair, watching as Ellen ate slowly and carefully, savoring each bite.

"This tastes different from anything I have had before." Ellen said as she worked her way through the meal. "And it is far better than Grineer rations." She made a face that Callisto shared.

"My mother always said hunger was the best sauce." Callisto said with a smile that Ellen hesitantly returned. "The food we have available is nourishing, but we will likely need to work on making it more appetizing. Do you know food preparation?"

That was a bit of a cheat. She could feel the woman scrutinizing the meal. Ellen had to know more than a layman about how to prepare such.

"Some." Ellen admitted. "I worked as an assistant chef a few times."

"Want a job?" Callisto's smile became a grin as Ellen goggled at her. "We are rebuilding this colony. We could use all the help we can get. You and Pip will be safe here with us."

"I need to think on that." Ellen's face was sad, her eyes going distant."Pip is the important one. We lost Rick and Sheena to the clones. I can't lose him too."

"You won't if we have any say all in the matter." Callisto promised her. Ellen did not notice as energy flared around the woman's head, energy that was mimicked by the scarab attached to Ellen's skull. Inaros was a very subtle manipulator of minds at times. But for this? All that was needed was a minor nudge in the right direction. "Pip wants to stay. Will you?"

"Yes." Ellen said as her eyes unfocused a bit.

"We will stay."


	5. Chapter 5

**Inaros**

"I do not understand." The Lotus looked and sounded perplexed.

To their credit, no one had refused when Nikis had called the meeting to order. It wasn't the way things were generally done, but _no one_ was going to argue with the gunfighter. The five Elders who had been at Sean's hearing, Sean himself, and a holographic avatar of the Lotus made the room seem crowded. Nikis looked at the Lotus and she shook her head.

"The records I have seen paint him as a renegade, but you say he was not?" Her tone was worried rather than contradictory and Nikis nodded.

"The Orokin were not big on owning their mistakes." The ancient gunfighter said sourly. "And that one was a _doozy_." The Lotus frowned and Nikis nodded. "Not the first time the facts were 'adjusted' to suit the needs of those in power. Won't be the last."

"Then what really happened?" The Lotus sounded wary. No one blamed her. Information was her primary tool and if someone had given her bad information, it messed up all kinds of things. " _Was_ he renegade?"

"In the end, yes." Nikis sighed. "But not by choice."

"What truly happened, Nikis? You were there." Mavri asked. "All most of us know about him is what is in the records. The rest of the Tenno only know about him because of Baro." He made a face and the others nodded.

"Didn't know Baro Ki' Teer was from that colony originally." Nikis admitted. "Don't really care. Guy is what he is now. Thing was, when Orokin was founded and humanity spread out across the Solar System, some groups simply wanted to be left alone. Not all were radical separatists. Some were cults. Some were just different. The Amish farms on Deimos come to mind." Everyone looked at him oddly and he just shook his head. "Never mind about them. Long story and not germane. The colony we are talking about, they... I guess the proper term is that they 'devolved'."

" _De_ -volved?" Sean asked and froze as everyone looked at him. "Ah..."

"That is about what _I_ said when Inaros told me about them for the first time." Nikis said quietly. "They wanted a simpler life. So, they made one for themselves. They forged a place for themselves where they didn't _have_ to rely on the ultra tech that most of Orokin took for granted. Their farms were places of wonder and all natural." Wonder of wonders, Nikis' tone held awe now. "But of course, it was too good to last."

"What happened?" The Lotus asked into the silence that fell.

"The _Orokin_ happened." Nikis snarled, but not at anyone in the room. "They ignored the isolated colony for several generations. When they finally _did_ notice it again, they were shocked. The people there were living longer than human norms. They were producing more food in a smaller space than any Orokin _tech_ could. What was worse? They were _happy_."

"What?" Sean asked, but the Lotus and the Elders had all tensed. "Why would that be bad?" He shut his mouth with a click when Nikis looked at him.

"Anything that could make people think about _other_ things than obeying the people in power was _bad_." Nikis said quietly. Sean froze and Nikis nodded. "Yeah. Orokin was a monarchy. Constitutional, no less. But _money_ and _power_ were the real rulers. We Tenno could see the way things were going, but we had no real authority to act if it wasn't the government doing things. Talia gave us the right to oversee the _government_ , but nothing else. She never thought to curb the rest. She wasn't perfect by a long shot. She tried and did very well for a human. It wasn't her fault that it all went to hell. I always liked her. She had a hell of a twisted sense of humor." Fond sadness sang in the Nekros' tone.

Sean fought hard not to swallow. Nikis was speaking of the First Empress of Orokin as an _equal_. He knew, intellectually, that Nikis had been around at the time, but hearing it was different. More real.

"So, they acted." Mavri looked as if he wanted to spit.

"Yeah." Nikis slumped a bit. "Oh, they tried the soft approach first. They sent in 'advisors' and 'traders'. They were ignored. Orokin had nothing the people wanted. So the Orokin sent in agents to try and purchase the land and reap the knowledge of the techniques for their purposes. _They_ were laughed at. The colony was an agricultural society. The land was their life and they wouldn't give it up." The Nekros shook his head. "So then, the Orokin got rough."

"Inaros?" Mavri's tone was oddly gentle.

"He was working with the Orokin teams as an anthropologist and was assigned to the group dedicated to that colony." Nikis said softly. "He didn't know what they wanted. They said they wanted to 'study' a few of the colonists. That they wouldn't hurt any of them. He balked and they managed to finagle orders that had him obey them." He shook his head. "They ordered him to snatch a sample. A young child." Everyone in the room froze at that. Nikis looked at the floor. "He didn't want to do it. But they promised him they wouldn't hurt the kid and would put him back fast with no memory. That every scan would be non-invasive and non-painful."

"And when they got hold of him..." The Lotus sounded sick and more than one of the Elders was pale.

"They tore the poor kid apart." Nikis said sadly. "Inaros had _no_ idea what they were planning until it was done. He couldn't even save the kid's _energy_. He _lit_ into them. From what he said, it was a close thing. If _any_ of them had possessed a _scrap_ of physical courage, he might have killed them all _then_." The Nekros heaved a sigh. "Part of me almost wishes he _had_."

"And then?" Mavri asked.

"He was madder than hell, but he was Tenno." Nikis said softly. "He returned to the Citadel to report what had happened. We were _all_ horrified, but we had _four_ outbreaks of the Technocyte Virus to deal with at the time. By the time we got to them, the Orokin over Phobos had done it three more times. Snatched and killed three kids. 'Study' my ass. They were trying to scare the colonists into surrender by targeting their kids. We told them to stop and they did." Sean looked at Nikis, trying hard not to convey disbelief and Nikis chuckled darkly. "When _Hayden_ told someone _in person_ to stop something, they _did_ if they had _any_ sense at _all._ "

"I bet." Mavri shook his head. "But they didn't. Did they?"

"No." Nikis sighed. "I mean, what do _morals_ and _ethics_ have to do with making _money_ or garnering _power_?" Obviously a rhetorical question, no one commented. "Trinity wanted to see the colony and Inaros took her there. They went garbed as humans. The rest of us went back to what we had to do. I mean... no one _sane_ just _ignores_ Hayden, right?" He bowed his head. "Trinity was taken with the people. They liked her too. But while they were there visiting, _another_ kid disappeared. Trinity said Inaros just vanished moments after the kid did. The people there held a vigil as they always did when one of theirs was taken by the 'Golden Sky Men' and suddenly, the kid was _back_. Covered in blood and worse things. But not _hurt_. Trinity knew instantly what had happened even before the kid named him. Inaros never denied it. Never denied killing all of the Orokin involved."

"I... don't see a problem." Sean said slowly. "I mean, if the _First Tenno_ told them to stop and they _didn't_... Then they got what they _deserved_."

"Oh, they _definitely_ got what they deserved." Nikis shook his head. "And if it had ended there, it wouldn't have been a problem. Problem was, there were others involved who he didn't kill. Who were not there at the time. Those Orokin were madder than a passel of stepped on badgers, but we couldn't have cared less. Like you say, they got what they deserved." He looked away from the group. "Inaros felt responsible for the colony. He always _did_ have a deep seated need to be a paladin." Contempt rang deep in his tone.

"Nikis." Mavri complained mildly.

"No, he did always want to be a hero." Nikis said with a snort. "But he drew the line at being called a _god_." He had everyone's attention again.

"A god." The Lotus said for everyone.

"Think about it." Nikis said softly. "You have a group of people who were living in primitive style, intentionally. All of the original generations were gone. The first colonists, their children and their children's children have all passed away. No one remembers the truth of Tenno or Orokin technology. Then you have an obviously supernatural guardian figure simply _appear_ out of _nowhere_ to save this kid. What are they going to _think_?"

"Oh boy." Mavri was hardly the only one to put a hand to his face.

"To his credit, he always tried to correct them." Nikis said with a sigh. "He felt _wrong_ being called that. Can't blame him."

"Don't tell me _you_ have never been called a deity. An angry one." Mavri said flatly. Nikis glared at him, but the Elder was totally serious. "Truly?"

"I am generally a bit more direct than he was about telling people I am not." Nikis growled. "He was trying to limit the damage. He always was a good anthropologist. Me? I just want people to shut up and stop asking me for crap." More than one of the others stared at him and he snarled at them. "Don't."

"So, they revered him." The Lotus was not looking at Nikis, her visible face was thoughtful. "And the Orokin reacted badly."

"Oh yeah." Nikis relaxed a bit and more than one person in the room let out a quiet breath. "At first, they tried ordering him to obey. He ignored them. Then they tried getting _us_ involved. _We_ ignored them." He shook his head. "Inaros policed Phobos well, not a trace of infestation was allowed anywhere on the moon. We couldn't officially approve of what he did but every last one of us agreed he was in the right." He slumped. "For that anyway."

"So they tried other methods." Mavri filled in the blanks and Nikis nodded. "And those didn't work. So what happened?"

"Mandi happened." Nikis actually seemed to wilt. "None of us saw it coming. She was smart. She was good at what she did."

"Nikis, who was Mandi?" The Lotus asked. "I have no records of a Tenno named that in that time."

"You won't." Nikis grated the words out. "She wasn't Infected. She was Trinity's granddaughter and Tenno mad as soon as she met her Grandma the first time. But none of us wanted to take the risk of teaching her. Or possibly infecting her. Trinity had other students when Mandi came to us and no one else dared to take her as a student. None of us wanted to fail Trinity. Hindsight and all that."

"Oh no..." Sean breathed. "No..."

"She went to Inaros and he told her 'No'." Nikis said softly. "The first _three_ times she came, he told her 'No'. The fourth time, he gave in and took her as a probationary student of anthropology. The idea was to keep her out of trouble. In retrospect, that wasn't the best choice of actions."

"What happened to her?" The Lotus asked. "Now that I know what to look for, I see a notice of death in the records, but nothing more."

"She was fascinated by the colony." Nikis sounded subdued now. "She was bright and cheerful. They all liked her. Inaros gave her clearance to come and go as she wished. She was the only one given such clearance and the Orokin discovered that." He bowed his head. Mavri and the Lotus both hissed. "Losy profiteers didn't care who she was. She was leverage to them. So they took her. They hurt her. They wanted her to find a way to betray Inaros to them and she refused. So they hurt her more. Inaros went after her and brought her back, killing all the thugs who had her. But the damage was done and I doubt even Trinity could have saved her. He called us. We went and were there when she passed away. We took her body and energy. An Orokin... Some kind of flunky, an _idiot_ one, tried to brace Inaros when we took Mandi's body to our ship. Inaros cut him down without hesitation. He... He wasn't the Tenno I had known. He didn't stop, he came after me and Trinity." Nikis slumped. "I couldn't fight him. Not then. Not now. He wasn't a bad sort. He wasn't _evil_. He was just pushed too far. I asked Mandi, when I could get through to her energy, what had happened. She explained. She made me swear not to fight him. Pushy girl." Pride sang in his voice now.

"And then?" One of the other Elders asked.

"A team went to 'talk' to him. They had to beat him down hard to get him to listen." Nikis sounded as if he were a long ways from the room. "They brought him back to the Citadel for a time. He realized quickly what had happened. He had lost it when he found her. Gone completely nuts. Just like with the boy. He secluded himself to seek a peace of mind. We kept an eye on the colony and 'persuaded' the Orokin to leave them alone while he was gone."

"Record says he was killed by Infested." The Lotus said softly. Nikis nodded.

"He had recovered, but the people there still needed him." Nikis wasn't angry now. He looked old and tired, even in his warframe. "He was working with Trinity and others to try and find a way to show them that he wasn't a god. It's not a matter of saying it. I mean, he healed so fast it didn't even seem he bled. He showed himself outside of the warframe and they refused to _believe_ it was him. Kind of funny, in a sad way." Nikis took a deep breath. "He was solo there when an outbreak happened right at the colony. I am convinced to this day that the Orokin were responsible. But there is no proof and now? It doesn't matter. He fell stopping the outbreak from reaching the colony center. We were in time to save them. But not him."

"I am sorry, Nikis." Mavri said with a bowed head. "Losing friends is never easy. He was your student?"

"My first." Nikis' tone shifted. "The first who took up the mantle after me." Sean was hardly the only one to hiss at that. But the Oberon was the one who spoke.

"You mean he is a _Guardian of the Dead_?" Sean demanded, more fearful than angry. Nikis nodded. "Oh dear."

"Yes." Nikis said flatly. "He knows more about manipulating minds and energy forms than anyone else in existence besides _me_. Gemina Horati and her mistress were _amateurs_ compared to him. The _only_ good thing is that he never _hurt_ people. He took people who had nothing and gave them something. He gave them the best life he could. I will give him that. He was a benevolent soul. The being I spoke too on Phobos today seemed to be the same."

"Nikis..." The Lotus said weakly.

"I know." Nikis sighed. "Yes. At its core, what he does _is_ slavery. It _is_ mind control. He programs people, but he is not vicious about it. He is not like the Corpus. He won't hurt them."

"We cannot allow this!" One of the other Elder said with a frown. "We defend humans, not enslave them!"

"You send Tenno strike teams against him and you _will_ lose them." Nikis warned. "If they are _lucky_ , they will be disabled and he will call me to clean up the mess. He fought off Ember, Banshee, Excalibur, Frost, Nova, Trinity, Loki _and_ Mag _at the same time_! They said it was pure _luck_ none of them died." At that, everyone stilled. "I _might_ be able to take him, I might not. Kind of hard to shoot _sand_. I would probably have to cut loose and _that_ would kill him. It would also kill _everything_ in the surrounding area and probably render it uninhabitable for a long, long time even by _our_ standards." He shook his head. "I won't do that. Not unless there is _no_ other option. Phobos might be a desert, but there _is_ life there besides Grineer. I wouldn't kill everything on that moon lightly."

Sean fought hard not to swallow at Nikis' dry recital of his ability. He knew the ancient gunfighter had power. Everyone did. But _that?_

"So what do you recommend?" The Lotus asked. "If fighting him won't work?"

" _We_ are not the Orokin." Nikis said softly. "He takes people who have no hope and no chance and gives them both. Gives them a life. Not a life we would consider 'free' but a life. He would make a powerful ally. If we treat honestly with him, he will treat honestly with us."

"This is not a decision we can make quickly, Nikis." Mavri said after a moment's thought. The other Elders nodded with him.

"I know." For once, there was no insouciance in the ancient Nekros' words. "But whatever you do, stay _away_ from his territory."

"That won't work." Sean kicked himself for speaking when everyone turned to look at him. "Historically speaking, isolation _never_ works. Even if he can maintain perfect control over all of _his_ people, _someone_ else will always be probing. Corpus, Grineer, or one of the syndicates. You say he wants to be left alone?" Nikis nodded. "As you say, we are not Orokin. Would he be willing to talk to us?"

"I don't know." Nikis said after a moment. "I warned him not to alter Tenno, but... I don't know. I cannot guarantee anyone would be safe."

"I don't want safety." Sean mused. The others all looked at him. "Elders, I stated the place for my challenge. May I alter that?"

"You _can_." Mavri's eyes were narrowed and then he hissed as realization struck. "No. Don't even _think_ that."

"I need a Guardian of the Dead and Nikis says he is honorable." Sean said softly. "So, I shift the location to Phobos."

"If you try to _manipulate_ him, he _will_ kick your _ass_." Nikis warned. " _Then_ he will get _mean_."

"I am not." Sean was surprised to find that was the truth.

"I am showing trust to a brother whose trust has been abused far too often."


	6. Chapter 6

**Mettle**

Fear was a known quantity.

Everything living things, from the most basic one celled organisms all the way up to hyper Technocyte evolved bio-forms knew fear. It was a biological response to changing situations. Not all could understand the fear but all knew what it was it and reacted to it.

Sean understood fear quite well. He was terrified. He was careful to be open in his movements. There were no signs of Grineer nearby anymore. The area that he had been sent to destroy the reactor of was a ghost town now. The cave he had seen before was as it had been, with a few more bullet holes in the ancient stone walls. But this time, he looked at the sand and he saw it. Anyone looking would see it, but they likely wouldn't know what it was they were seeing. Most would ignore it. Sean had been warned though and he wasn't _about_ to ignore it. He wore his Oberon warframe and for weapons, he bore a simple unmodded Skana which José had finally decided on as a weapon for the duel.

A very small, very thin ripple of sand stretched out across the open area in front of the cave. Natural formations could mimic such perfect lines, but in the end, they would not be. This wasn't natural. Sean moved to line, but did not cross it. Then he knelt and waited. He did not have to wait long.

 _ **You do not belong here.**_ The voice wasn't antagonistic as it had been before. It was a warning, but not angry.

 _I need to speak to Inaros._ Sean kept his mental tone level and respectful.

 _ **You should not be here.**_ The other said flatly. _**Go.**_ Was it Sean's imagination that the sand in the area was writhing? He didn't dare look.

 _I ask for the presence of the Guardian of the Dead Inaros._ Sean bowed his head further. _I crave a boon._ To his amazement, a chuckle resounded audibly.

 _You have talked to Nikis._ The voice was calmer, less horrible. _That is the only possible explanation for you just_ **sitting** _there._

 _He told me what happened._ Sean shook his head. _You have my sympathy, brother._

 _You call me 'brother'._ The voice of Inaros was perplexed. _No one has called me that in a long time. I... am not what I was. I have done horrible things._

 _That does not matter._ Sean replied evenly. _I am not saying I approve of what you do. For I do not. But you are my brother. You are Tenno. I wish to speak to you. I have to do something horrible myself and I need a Guardian of the Dead on hand when I do._

 _What is your name?_ Inaros' tone was attentive now.

 _I am Sean._ The kneeling Tenno replied evenly.

 _Very well, Sean._ Inaros said. _You have piqued my curiosity at the very least and I just asked Nikis if he sent you. His response was... um... graphic._ _You may come inside the circle, but only as far as I decree._ Sean stilled. He had no idea if Inaros was telling the truth or not. Inaros sighed. _Wait a moment, Nikis will be in touch._

Indeed, it was only a moment before a familiar sour voice cleared its throat inside Sean's head.

 _Wasn't sure you would have the guts, boy. Well, guts or_ **lack** _of_ **sense** _. Six of one, half dozen of the other._ Nikis' sour tone was unmistakable. _If he says you are safe, you are safe. He tells you to scat, you_ **do** _it, clear?_

 _Yes, Grandmaster._ Sean bowed his head further and Nikis harrumphed and the voice vanished.

 _Well, at least the young today have sense enough not to ignore Nikis' commands._ Was Inaros chuckling? _That is smart._

 _That is plain common_ **sense** _._ Sean retorted. At _that_ , Inaros actually laughed as Sean rose to his feet.

 _Yeah, but how common_ **is** _common sense these days?_ Inaros asked slyly as a form appeared at the cave and beckoned Sean forward. _As long as you adhere to the laws of courtesy, you are safe in this place. For now._ He warned. _There is a small cavern that used to be set up for visitors just inside the entrance. We can use that to talk._

Sean was hyperaware of his surroundings as he stepped across the line in the sand. But nothing happened. He strode to the cave and followed the odd looking warframe inside. Three steps inside, the other turned to the right and Sean followed into a small, dim room. He stiffened for a moment as dim light illuminated the room, but it got no brighter. He couldn't see what was causing it. It wasn't any tech he had seen.

"It's an animal." Inaros' audible voice was surprisingly normal. "The phosphorescence is a defense mechanism against predators. As long as we are here, they will give off light. But they are very small and thin, unless you look with a proper scope, you won't find them."

"How many...?" Sean broke off and shook his head. "Never mind. Thousands at the least. But that is cool." Inaros nodded, his posture approving. The elder Tenno knelt in the middle of the room and Sean did likewise at the proper distance. "Thank you for giving me time to speak with you, Guardian."

"You don't need to be so formal with me, Tenno Sean." Inaros said mildly. "You are not one of my people and you are not in trouble." His tone turned wicked as Sean stared at him. "Hey, I am old. I am allowed a few quirks."

"Why do I get the feeling you will abuse that excuse quite a lot?" Sean asked with a snort.

"Because you have met _Nikis_." Inaros replied instantly. "He acts that way just to _do_ it. At least he stopped talking _backwards_. That was _really_ annoying when he went through that phase. Yoda, he is _not._ " He sighed and relaxed a bit. "What is it you desire of me?"

"I find myself in a difficult position." Sean paused. "Um, what _should_ I call you? The problem I am going to relate pertains greatly to courtesy and I have no wish to offend."

"Call me Inaros." The other replied evenly. "Every time someone called me 'Grandmaster' I automatically looked to see where Nikis was lurking." Sean goggled at him and Inaros chuckled. "He did that just to jump out and scare the crap out of people. He was a holy terror. But a better teacher, I do not think I will ever find. My one true regret is how badly I failed him."

" _You_ didn't!" Sean retorted before he could stop himself. "He explained. You were pushed into this path."

"Tenno were pushed as I was before I was." Inaros didn't seem moved at all. "I am sure they have been pushed since then. I made a hell of a mess. I would probably do the same thing again, but it _was_ a hell of mess. I believe what I did was right, but others disagreed. I did stray over the line and I _did_ attack my kin." Shame sounded in his voice now. "I am just glad I didn't kill any. What do you need?"

"When you warned me off before, I was involved in a mission to destroy the reactor of the closest Grineer settlement." Inaros nodded at Sean's words but did not speak so Sean continued. "I was joined by three others. A sister and two brothers. I fought beside the sister, but there was obviously some animosity between her and the brothers. I did not understand it and in the middle of a mission was neither the time nor the place for queries." Inaros nodded again. "In the course of the mission, one of the brothers demanded that we move faster. He was quite rude." At that, Inaros stiffened but again, remained silent. "The sister and I were fighting to extraction when she went down. There was a great deal of radiation spewing around the area and she was bleeding out. I carried her to the extraction zone where the other two ignored our peril. They would have left us both to die. No..." Sean corrected himself. "One of them would have. The other, I have spoken to and he did not realize the peril. He is genuinely remorseful."

"But the other is not." Inaros' tone was soft, but held deep anger and Sean nodded.

"No." Sean said flatly. "He is not. I challenged his actions. Leaving a sister to die for _pride_ is a _direct_ violation of the Code. I may not be a good Tenno sometimes, but there are limits. I challenged him outside of Conclave."

" _No!_ " Inaros actually _recoiled_. "Brother..."

"He would have left us _both_ to die!" Sean exclaimed. "Myself? I care not about. But a sister? He had done it to her before. He will do it again to any other kin who are slower than him. We cannot _trust_ him in the field." His rant cut off as Inaros raised a hand.

"Calm yourself, brother." Inaros commanded and Sean took several deep cleansing breaths. When he had done so, Inaros heaved a deep sigh. "As you say, a horrible thing to demand the death of kin. I can see your point of view and you wish me to make it permanent?"

"It doesn't matter who wins this challenge." Sean said flatly. "If I win, there will be others who feel as he does. That speed is all and anyone who slows them down should be tossed aside as unworthy. They _will_ be more circumspect. At least for a time. If _he_ wins, perhaps this will shake his confidence that speed is all. Either way, the status quo _will_ be shaken."

"Either way, we _lose_ a _brother_!" Inaros sounded stern now and Sean bowed his head. "And you want _me_ to take the energy of the fallen? Are you _insane_? I am sure Nikis told you what he knows about my history."

"No matter your history, you _are_ a Guardian of the Dead." Sean said softly. "Nikis says you can be trusted. So I must trust you."

"Nikis is a master manipulator." Inaros said after a moment. "How can I be sure this is _your_ choice, not _his_?"

"He was not involved. I decided on the challenge during the mission." Sean said calmly. "I went to the Elders after it. I encountered Nikis after that and he explained what happened to you. He explained to me and the Elders as well as the Lotus."

"The Lotus?" Inaros asked, perplexed. "Who is that?" Sean stared, but then he realized that Inaros really wouldn't know anything about her if he had just woken up.

"She is the guide of the Tenno in this time." Sean explained. "It is a long story. She is neither human nor Tenno, but she does mean well even if her methods border on the Machiavellian on occasion."

"I have far more to learn about this time than I thought." Inaros mused. Then the elder Tenno shook his head. "He told you I enslave people."

"He did not explain in any detail. Frankly I am glad of that." Sean worked to stay calm and managed. "I don't know if you will keep the energy, send it to the database or give it to Nikis to play with. It really doesn't matter to me. You can make it permanent and that is all I ask."

"I take humans who are _dying_." Inaros said softly. "If they have a chance to survive, I leave them be. It started with what I was, so long ago. A Guardian of the Dead. Yes, I alter them to suit the environment and yes, I needed the core of the colony so I altered the first ones that I found in this time more than the others will be. I do not touch children. For one thing, the procedures will fade as they grow and for another, it would be _wrong_. They are the future and they must be protected, not forced into some mold by an uncaring supervisor."

"The same could be said for the others." Sean said quietly. Inaros nodded. "So?"

"So, aside from the first three, all of whom _died_ when I took them prisoner and I revived them to serve the colony to make up for my heavy handedness..." Inaros said flatly. "The others have a choice to stay or not. Three have chosen to leave. I removed any memory of me and mine and set them loose. I did keep a distant eye on them and they found refuges elsewhere. They are no longer my concern."

"Inaros..." Sean paused, unsure of how to say he didn't believe without giving offense.

"You cannot know if I tell the truth." Inaros said bluntly. "I can give any proofs that I wish, but you cannot trust that either. If I were good, which I _am_ with no conceit intended, I can fake such easily. Proving a negative is always difficult. For me to show that I didn't do something would be a pain in the butt."

"Nikis said you wish to remain apart." Sean said after a moment. Inaros nodded. "Isolation rarely works out well in the long run."

"If need be, I can bring the mountainside down." Inaros replied. "It would take years for the clones to dig through the rock even with heavy machinery."

"Brother..." Sean begged. "That would be a waste. Yes, humans can live anywhere with the proper support. But they have a chance to live in the _sun_ here. Something that would _never_ happen on Mercury or Venus or Pluto." Inaros stared at him and Sean shook his head. "I have no right to gainsay your plans. All I ask is that you do not act in haste. The Elders are conferring. But if as you say, you let the humans choose, then we did not have all of the information and our decision will be flawed."

"I cannot prove that in any way that most Tenno would accept." Inaros said softly. "The ones who left do not remember me or this place. And I did not let them all choose. The ones I... killed I took as my own." Shame sang in his tone. "When they woke, they fought. I... I was too quick. Too harsh with them. That is my responsibility, my shame."

"A Healer could prove your innocence in this." Sean said softly. "They could see the changes you wrought. Vet them."

"You ask me to open our borders to an unknown." Inaros said flatly. "That will not happen."

"That is not what I am asking." Sean worked to remain calm. Inaros looked at him and the Oberon nodded. "What I am asking is that _you_ _**talk**_ to a Healer. No more. Explain what you did and why. They may react in horror, but they may not. I met one who is incredibly open minded. Maybe a little _too_ open minded..." He said with a wince.

"Healers can be a law unto themselves." Inaros was speaking from fond memory now. "But... I will see what I can do, brother. I can promise no more than that."

"If you have been accused of something you didn't do, then you need to explain before this goes any further." Sean pressed carefully. "We protect humans but we all make mistakes. Heaven knows I did even if I do not remember them." Inaros looked at him and Sean sighed. "I was... punished for something. Mindwiped."

"Oh." Inaros shook his head. "Death might have been kinder or easier."

"Since when do Tenno do _anything_ the _easy_ way?" Sean challenged and Inaros actually laughed.

" _Never_ in my experience." The ancient Guardian of the Dead said with a nod. "So... What?"

"We go on." Sean gave himself a shake. "May I ask your assistance, Guardian Inaros?" He said formally.

"You may." Inaros' tone was equally formal.

"I ask for the assistance of a Guardian of the Dead to make sure the results of this duel are permanent." Sean intoned. "Such a request has not been made since time immemorial. But such did happen."

"Yes." Inaros sounded sad now. "Brother Oris and Sister Galintra could not solve their dispute any other way. It was bad. We lost both of them." Sean looked at him and Inaros shook his head. "I was not involved. A sister Guardian did the duty and no, I will not name her. It hurt her very badly to take _both_ of them. But that was the letter of the duel. Whoever fell was lost. _Both_ did."

"I will not ask such." Sean bowed his head. "I have no _intention_ of striking a brother down."

"You go to this duel _ready_ to _die_?" Inaros shook his head. "Then you have already _lost_."

"We have _all_ lost, brother." Sean said sadly. He choked up suddenly, emotion rising to overwhelm him. A hand touched his shoulder and he felt strength flow into him. Strength and compassion tinged with sorrow.

"I can see your resolve and I understand the need. I do not like this, but I will do as you wish." Inaros said softly. He slumped a bit as Sean regained his poise. His head shot up and then he nodded. "Another Tenno comes. Your challenge awaits."

He rose and Sean did as well. The other led the way to the cave mouth and stopped at the edge of the darkness. Sean continued forward. He looked but didn't see José. He wanted this over one way or-

Sean jerked as pain slammed into him. He stared down at... the glowing energy skana that had impaled his chest. He was at the line in the sand, but...

"YOU LOSE!" The form of José appeared nearby, Skana in hand. "Submit!"

 _ **You**_ **fool** _ **!**_ The voice of Inaros _slammed_ into both of them as Sean took another step forward. _**Have you no honor at**_ **all** _ **? The duel was not**_ **begun** _ **and you strike from**_ **hiding** _ **?**_ _**He**_ **cannot** _ **submit! Not**_ **here** _ **! Not**_ **now** _ **! You are**_ **no** _ **Tenno** **!**_

Sean was weaving as he drew his own Skana. Fluid was falling from his warframe as the energy Skana vanished as if it had never been. José recoiled.

"Yes, he _is_." Sean managed as he took a guard position with his own Skana.

"But only for the _moment_."


	7. Chapter 7

**Challenge Accepted?**

Sean was hurt. Bad. But he would not submit. Not for this. Even if the other had ignored the rules, _he_ would _not_. Neither combatant spoke. There was nothing more to say.

José's sneak attack had bit deep into Sean's warframe. But the warframe was healing him. José had stipulated no mods on the _Skana_ , he hadn't said _anything_ about mods on the _warframe_. Sean had known going into this that he would be hurt no matter the outcome so had modded for endurance and healing. José was a melee specialist. Sean was more of a generalist, with a focus on denying enemy movement and protecting allies. That did _not_ mean he was clueless with a Skana however. Far from it.

José darted in, but Sean parried the attack and his counter struck deep into the Excalibur's bio-armored arm. The Excalibur raised his sword straight up, but Sean spun behind a rock wall and rolled. This time, the energy Skana missed, if just barely. Sean spun to his feet and waited. Sure enough José sped around the corner, confident that his attack had at the very least disabled the Oberon. He tried to backpedal as he saw Sean standing ready, but it was too late. He too was skilled and he managed to interpose his Skana, so the strike that _would_ have cut the Excalibur's head off and ended the battle right there instead bit deep into the neck of the warframe before it was stopped by the combination of armor and parry. Sean retreated a step as José countered and the Excalibur's swing met nothing but air.

This time, Sean was ready when José raised his sword up straight. The Oberon's backhanded cut was more slap than strike. However, it _was_ powerful enough to break the Excalibur's concentration and throw him into the wall of the small rocky corridor they found themselves in. Now, Sean took to the offensive. He raised a hand from his Shana and energy poured from it. The Smite bolt did not hurt José significantly. It _did_ befuddle him for a moment. Long enough for Sean to set himself. Skana met Skana in a skreel of high technology steel.

Since the dawn of human history, there had been two kinds of swordfights. The first kind happened when one or the other combatant was either outclassed or disabled in some way. Those battles generally ended quickly. But if _neither_ combatant had an advantage, the battle could go on for some time. José was marginally stronger and his warframe was set up for melee combat. Sean was a slight bit faster and _his_ warframe was set up for defense. Both were equally skilled. Neither had an advantage. The ground was clear of obstructions but had enough little nooks like the one they were struggling in to make line of sight difficult to keep. Add to that, warframes healed the users and... Well...

This was going to take a while.

José retreated, giving up ground to seek a more advantageous site to launch attacks from, but Sean was right on his heels. Sean paused as José crossed the line in the sand, but nothing happened to the Excalibur and the Oberon charged after him, intent on keeping the other from using any of his powers. José began a kata and Sean retreated from it. He wasn't skilled enough to break through it without taking serious damage, so the Oberon backpedaled instead. José finished the kata and began another intent on pushing Sean back, but this time, the Energy Siphon on Sean's warframe had accumulated enough power from the surrounding area to power one of his abilities. When the Oberon raised his hand, José cut his kata short and rolled away only to jerk as the ground underneath him suddenly became charged with energy. Sean stepped onto the energy carpet and attacked without hesitation.

José backpedaled away from the advancing Oberon, but he wasn't moving as fast. The Hallowed Ground energy was slowing him down. The he jumped up and Sean followed belatedly as the Excalibur Bullet Jumped towards an outcropping in the distance. But... what was José _doing_?

 _ **BEWARE!**_

Inaros' warning came too late. Sean could only stare as José rolled atop the outcropping and grabbed up something from the dirt. Then Sean landed, set himself and _prayed_ as he charged forward even while _knowing_ he had no chance.

" _No one_ tells me what to do." José said angrily as he leveled the Boltor Prime and opened fire.

* * *

Inaros stood, staring in shock as the Excalibur blazed away with the weapon he had apparently hidden before approaching the area designated for the duel.

The Oberon had managed to find solid ground and he held his Skana up, blocking the rain of projectiles that came from the golden weapon in the hands of the Excalibur as he tried to close with his enemy. But he couldn't stop them _all_. Bolt after bolt slammed into his warframe, each cumulative strike adding to the stresses the bioarmor was suffering. It wouldn't last. He couldn't...

Inaros groaned as the Oberon missed a block and the bolt slammed into Sean's chest near where the cowardly attack that had begin the duel had struck. Again and again, the Excalibur shot the Oberon. Sean went down in a heap and did not move, his Skana flying from his hand. José shot him three more times even after he was down. Only then did he turn to Inaros.

"I win." The Excalibur crowed. "Do it!" He demanded of Inaros.

 _ **Do**_ **what** _ **?**_ Inaros retorted, his calm a thin mask for a rage that _should_ have made José flee. But the younger Tenno wasn't that bright.

"Take his energy!" The Excalibur waved the muzzle of his Boltor at the fallen Oberon. "He lost."

 _ **Did he?**_ Inaros shook his head. _**The duel never**_ **began** _ **.**_ The Excalibur froze in place as the anger -no, the _rage_!- in Inaros' heart was given full voice. _**There are forms in such things for a**_ **reason** _ **. Namely honorless curs like**_ **you** _ **!**_ The sand in the area rose and wafted as if on invisible wind, bouyed by the ancient Tenno's wrath. _**Leave my territory or you will**_ **beg** _ **for death, brat.**_

"I won! You _cannot_ tell me what to do!"

Waving the muzzle of his Boltor Prime in the direction of Inaros was _not_ wise. Before it was even _aimed_ , the Excalibur gave a screech as the ground underneath his feet opened up and his feet sank into it up to his calves. The hole immediately closed around his legs and power sang all around him, holding him in place. He struggled, but was going _nowhere_. Inaros had a hand up, but froze as another voice sounded.

"No. Inaros... Don't." Sean pleaded, trying to sit up and hold the holes in his warframe shut in at the same time. He failed on both counts. "You... are better... than..." He slumped as his warframe systems failed.

Inaros was at Sean's side in an instant, but it was too late. The Oberon lay still. His energy called to the ancient Tenno, but Inaros did not touch it. Instead, his hands wove a complicated pattern over the fallen Tenno, sealing his energy inside his warframe. Keeping him in place and asleep. Safe for now.

 _I don't know that I am better sometimes, brother Sean._ Inaros said sadly as he gathered the fallen Oberon up. _I just don't know._

" _Hey! You cannot leave me here like this!_ " José screamed in his prison.

 _ **Watch me.**_ Inaros cast the fool from his mind as he focused his will on another. _Nikis. Hear me._

 _Is it done?_ The profound sadness in the other ancient Tenno's mental tone would have shocked anyone but another of his peers, few of whom still existed. But Inaros understood.

 _No._ Inaros carried Sean's still form into the cave and then paused. _Sean would have faced the duel with honor. The other chose_ **not** _to._ Nikis inhaled and Inaros continued. _He struck before the forms were even started and when he was denied an easy victory, he picked up a weapon he had hidden and shot Sean with it._

 _That little_ **shit** _._ The ice cold rage that exploded into Nikis' mental tone might have frightened an earthquake. It certainly frightened _Inaros_. **_He alive?_**

 _For now._ Inaros replied. _I stuck him in place. Get someone out here to get that_ **filth** _out of my territory!_

 _On the way. We were close. Ready for...whatever._ Nikis' tone promised pain to the Excalibur and not a little of it. _Sean?_

 _He fell, but like I said, the forms were not_ **done** _. The duel never started officially. He is dead, but not_ **gone** _._ Inaros could not have missed the sudden tension from the other if he had been mind blind. _Nikis... you told me not to alter any Tenno. But... I can_ **save** _him. I wasn't clear before, Nikis. I killed the first three I found. I erred, used too much force and I could not heal them. To atone, I brought them back. Gave them new lives. All of the others, I give a choice to._ There was no response. _Nikis,_ **please** _! Let me save this brother!_

When next a voice spoke into his mind, it _wasn't_ Nikis. Inaros froze as the voice of the _First Tenno_ sounded in his mind. Nikis had summoned _Hayden!_

 _Do you swear to me on the Code that we all follow that you will give him the choice?_ Hayden Tenno asked slowly. _That you will not compel him to your service?_ _You know the penalty if you swear falsely and use the powers of a Guardian wrongly._

Inaros nodded, although it was wasted on someone who wasn't present. The fate of a Guardian who transgressed such was horrific in the extreme. Nikis and Hayden had know that anyone with such power would be tempted to use it and it was a slippery slope ethics wise. So easy to start down, so hard to stop once moving. So, they had crafted a special punishment for any who dared to use their power for enslaving others. Inaros had skirted the line before, but he had never _crossed_ it. To his knowledge, no one had. Then again, he didn't know a lot of the history that had led to this point in time, so... maybe.

 _I have done horrible things, First Tenno._ Inaros said softly. _I erred in dealing with the first three humans I encountered in my domain. I killed them although that was not my intent. I brought them back, gave them new lives to atone for my mistakes. The others are given a choice. I swear I will not bind this brother in any way to me._

 _We will be watching._ Hayden's tone was both warning and benediction. A caress of the mind and then the shade of the First Tenno was gone.

 _Nikis._ Inaros laid Sean down on the floor of the cavern they had used to talk and concentrated. Energy sang all around him and the fallen Oberon. _Sean recommended a Healer vet what I have done and how. To prove that I have not bound anyone to my service except the three I killed. I have nudged them into safer courses of action, but I have not_ **brainwashed** _anyone but those and them to fix my mistakes._

 _The only Healer I would trust for that would be Iriana._ Nikis said flatly. _And_ **she** _would be in danger the moment she leaves her haven. I cannot allow that. She has been hurt_ **enough** _ **.**_

 _I see._ Inaros started examining the broken Oberon physically and scarabs eased from tiny holes in the walls to surround the pair of warframes. _Trust must begin somewhere. I can give names of three who chose not to stay in my territory. They found refuges elsewhere. They can be examined for brainwashing. I sequestered their memories, so it may be difficult._

 _It is a start._ Nikis said softly. _You will need more information on this time. A lot has changed_ _. One thing, if a sort-of Tenno in a red and black sort-of warframe shows up and starts asking you for stuff, do yourself a favor and_ **kill him** _._ Inaros jerked at that and Nikis snarled. _He's a kinslayer._

 _Wonderful._ The irony in Inaros' voice could have cut steel. _Does_ **he** _count as Tenno if he shows up?_

 _Nope._ The glee in Nikis' tone could only be called 'feral'. _If Stalker shows, knock yourself out. It won't be_ **him** _. Just copies. The main form is hidden somewhere no one can find it. Probably the Void. So, we kill him when he shows._

 _What fun. Makes me glad I plan to stay isolated._ Inaros watched as the scarabs flowed over the Oberon, mending the tears in the fallen Tenno's armor. He slumped a bit when Sean heaved a little and then the energy started flowing properly again through the warframe again and Inaros relaxed a little. _Sean lives. I will have him ready for you to take when you arrive. I have not touched his mind or altered his energy in any way._

 _You know I cannot take your word for such things no matter how I might wish otherwise._ Nikis sounded old and tired and Inaros nodded. _We will vet him._

 _He is a good kid, Nikis._ Inaros laid a hand on Sean's horned helmet and shook his head. _I can keep him in stasis until you arrive. I think that would be best. The other_ **really** _irritated me when he violated the rules. I can only imagine how Sean feels._

 _Not everyone thinks honor is important._ Nikis' tone was flat, but the undercurrents said much. _People can take it too far, but... Still... Without it, things get bad. We are inbound. 30 to dirt.  
_

 _I will bring him. About honor? No argument._ The sound of Liset engines in the distance came and Inaros rose to his feet, picking up the still Oberon and carrying Sean to the cave mouth. He had to chuckle on seeing the Excalibur. The imprisoned Tenno had apparently thought to discard his weapon, but it was hanging in midair less than half a meter from his hand, tethered to the Excalibur by a thin trace of energized sand. _Idiot._

The Liset hovered overhead and no less than _four_ fully armed Tenno dropped from it. All of them landed beyond the line that delineated his territory, Inaros noted with a smile. Nikis stared from the frozen Excalibur and his weapon to Inaros and back and then the ancient Nekros burst out laughing.

"There are certain people ya simply should _not_ piss off, boy." The Nekros was shaking his head as the others, a Nyx Prime, an Excalibur Prime and a Trinity stepped forward. " _I_ would have shot ya and left ya in a rotting shell for a bit. Do yourself a favor, brat. Don't resist. _None_ of us are happy with ya, from the _Elders_ on _down_."

"HE HAD NO RIGHT!" The frozen Excalibur screamed. "I WON!"

Inaros looked at the others and they looked at him. In unison, all five of them shook their heads. Inaros stepped to the edge of his territory and held out the Oberon to the Trinity who took him. She laid him down and started scanning as Inaros stepped back. Everyone else was looking at the line on the sand and the frozen Excalibur who was _inside_ it. Nikis looked at Inaros and shrugged. Inaros made a 'shoo' gesture and the ground underneath the frozen Excalibur started to undulate, moving him towards the line while still frozen.

"Still a showoff, I see." Nikis said with a grunt as the imprisoned Excalibur crossed the line and his weapon fell to the ground. He jerked and then was held by the Nyx and the other Excalibur. He started struggling, but the Nyx did something and he slumped in their arms.

"Takes one to know one." Inaros retorted evenly. "Get that piece of trash _out_ of here."

"Yeah." Nikis sighed as the Nyx and Excalibur Prime started off, carrying the immobile Excalibur. "Thanks for not doing what I would have." Inaros shook his head and Nikis sighed. "We have history, you and I. I trust your word, but the Elders will want proof."

"I can show what I did." Inaros' tone was quiet and calm. "I didn't mean to enslave any. I did not give the ones I killed a choice, but I _can_." The Trinity jerked and Inaros bowed his head. "I killed them, sister. I didn't mean to. All three were hurt very badly by the Grineer. One was dying by inches as he walked. I tried to take them prisoner and my constructs _killed_ them. That is _my_ fault and _my_ responsibility. I could not put things as they were, but I _could_ give them new lives."

"I am not the proper one to judge such." The Trinity said softly. "But this brother lives. You have my thanks for that." She lifted Sean's still form easily and carried him away.

For a long moment, the Nekros and the other stared at one another. Then Inaros held out a hand. Nikis looked at it.

"Better not be a joy buzzer there." Nikis said with a grunt. Inaros shook his head and something dropped from the hand to be caught by his other hand. Nikis took the proffered hand and they shook. "Good to see ya. I don't know how this will play out but... I hope for the best. Too few of us old farts still around."

"Hey _._ " Inaros stepped back and affected hurt pride. "Speak for _yourself_! I am _not_ an old fart!"

"Riiight." Nikis looked around the clearing and toed the Boltor Prime where it lay. "Ya want this?"

"Not particularly." Inaros said sourly. "Good weapon, but tainted by that idiot. I want the colony to survive, Nikis. No more."

"Do they still believe ya a god?" Nikis asked. Inaros shook his head savagely and the Nekros nodded. "Good. Or bad." He had a smirk in his voice as Inaros groaned. "Watching ya squirm never got old."

"You are just a bad as _ever_." Inaros complained. "Would have thought you would have mellowed some, old man."

"Lots of bad in the time you missed, Inaros." Nikis said softly. "Too much to go over now. I am betting Sean will feel obligated to ya. Don't push it." He warned.

"Nikis..." Inaros looked away. "I have caused enough problems for our kin. Wouldn't it be better for me to disappear? Completely vanish?"

"No." The older Tenno said softly. "This world is very different from the one ya knew, but it has far more pain in it as well. We do what we can as Tenno always have. We could use ya help, even just as a stabilizing influence _here_." He pointed at the dirt beneath his feet. Then he bent down and picked up the fallen Boltor Prime with two fingers as if it was soiled. "As an ally, not an enemy."

"Would they allow that after what I have done?" Inaros asked. "The Elders?"

"I dunno. We will find out."


	8. Chapter 8

**Not Quite Final**

Sean was floating on a sea of warmth. Nothing hurt now. He was... It was...

It was wrong. Everything was wrong. There was something he had to do. Someone he had to see? No. Something he had to accomplish. But whatever it was escaped him. He tried to remember, but he was floating and it felt good. But... he had to move. He had to... what? He had to remember what he had to do!

 _No..._ Sean managed to say but only mentally. A startled exclamation came to him from close by.

"Whoa, brother. Easy." A hand found his and the voice... He remembered the voice. Karen. The sister he had assisted. "It is all right. You are all right. They have you on full support while they check you out. I am here. You are not alone." She promised.

 _Have to..._ He tried to get the words out, but they wouldn't come. She heard him anyway. Somehow.

"What you _have_ to do now is _rest_." Karen said firmly. "You are a mess and everyone wants to be sure you took no lasting hurt. Come on, brother. You helped me. Let me help you." Something changed. The warm feelings were seeping around him. He was falling asleep!

 _Gotta... Gotta..._ He was falling into the warmth faster than he could articulate his need to find out what he had to do.

 _We have you._ _Rest._ Karen's mental voice was kind and gentle. It eased him into slumber.

* * *

"Healer?" Karen wasn't quite begging as she held Sean's hand.

"He is asleep again. No sign of manipulation so far. No evidence of alterations in his brain or energy waves." Iriana said with a smile as she looked up from her scanners. "The repairs are good. He is going to be okay." Her glowing eyes narrowed as she looked at Karen. "Karen. Let go of him."

"I owe him, Healer." Karen said softly. She did let go of his hand and lay it back at his side on the bed. "I..."

"Karen. Back off. You touched his mind, didn't you?" Healer Iriana commanded. Karen stared at her and then paled. "Against the wall and stand there. _You_ need to be checked.

"Yes, Healer." Karen said weakly as she retreated to the wall and stood, eyes downcast. For all her faults, she was very good at obeying orders. Her voice was small when she spoke. "I am sorry."

"Don't apologize for _compassion_ , Karen." Iriana shook her head as she focused back on her work. Scanning the mental energy of a Tenno was difficult enough when she access it directly. But with this... No one wanted her to and frankly? _She_ didn't want to take the chance either after all of the unpleasantness she had been through recently with people mucking around in her mind. "That is one of the things that makes us _people_ instead of mindless machines. I haven't found anything, but we have to be _sure_. I wish Nikis hadn't left. He is better at this than I am."

"I will tell him you said that, Ma'am." Karen said with a small smile. Iriana glared at her and Karen shrugged. "Sorry, Healer. He scares me more than you do."

Iriana had to chuckle at that, which was probably Karen's intention. Karen's words were true. The ancient curmudgeon gunfighter scared anyone _sane_. Iriana turned back to her scanner, but an exclamation of delight caused her to look the other way where a seated man and a violet hulled MOA stood working. "Kat? Sheila?"

"We have isolated the toxins that were on the bolts, Healer." The MOA said calmly.

"That is good!" Iriana smiled but the smile faltered as Kat turned to her and the man's face was grim. "Isn't it?"

"Like we thought, it is a combination, Iriana. Neurotoxins and virus agents mixed into a nasty cocktail. He really didn't want Sean getting up." Kat looked from the backs of machinery where he was working to the bed where Sean lay surrounded by equipment dedicated to keeping him alive. "Whatever that Inaros fellow did brought Sean's body back from arrest, but the toxins are still there and still virulent. We will start work on counter agents." He turned back to the machinery, but paused as Iriana spoke.

"Well done, both of you." The Healer said. "Remember to take a break, Kat." Kat shook his head and Iriana glowered at him. "Oh She-la..." She singsonged.

"Yes, Healer?" The MOA sounded bright and cheerful. It was an act. She was still depressed but everyone was helping her and she would get better. She didn't really have a choice with everyone working to brighten her up. And when _Cecelia_ was in the dojo... Oh, the _mothering_... Then again, Cecelia had gone through most of the same things Shelia was. At least Sheila's organic parts were not growing inside her metal body. _Yet_ anyway. No one knew if they would.

"One hour." Iriana looked at the chrono and nodded to the MOA. "He works for an hour and then you make him take a break. Drag him by the short hairs if you have to." Kat looked at his mate and then at the MOA and shuddered.

"Um... I am supposed to do the same for you, Healer. Minus the short hairs." Sheila said in a tiny voice. "But in thirty minutes."

"Who would-" Iriana broke off and groaned. She slumped in her seat. "Nikis."

"Who else would _dare_?" Kat asked with a grin as he turned back to his work. He was a better technician than Iriana now, something that rankled a little at times. But she loved him and he was a very good assistant.

"You want the full list?" Irina worked hard to keep her face stern, but it was hard when Kat and Karen both chuckled. "Did Janna get any sleep?" She asked Karen who nodded. "Good. I still think she pushes herself too hard, warframe or no warframe."

"Everyone agrees. The Warlord will be talking to her later." Karen promised with a smile. Iriana nodded and focused on the scans. Tiana could be trusted to handle such with either tact or a _boot_ to the _butt_ depending on what was needed. That was one thing that made her so good at being a Warlord. Then Karen sobered. "Healer, if he was... altered, what can we do?"

"If he was, he will have to be sequestered until we can undo whatever was done." Iriana said heavily. No one spoke the obvious qualifier ' _If_ they could undo it'. "But I haven't found anything. None of the common alteration areas show any sign of... of..." She trailed off as she stared at the scan. "No."

"Healer?" Karen was reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. No one wanted weapons loose in an intensive care medical ward. Everyone in the room had tensed when Iriana did.

"Inaros didn't alter him." Iriana said in a wooden voice. "Someone _else_ did."

"What?" Karen demanded, moving to stand near the Healer in case Iriana needed support. Kat rose from his seat to do the same.

"No!" Iriana stood suddenly, backing away from the scanners. "Kat, Sheila, keep working on the counter agents. Karen... take a seat. You are going to be here a while. I need to talk to Alicia or Matril. Now."

"Healer..." Karen did as instructed, but he face was a study. She was supposed to be 'helping' Iriana. Read making sure the Healer ate and slept. That was a bit of a chore at times. Then the names registered. Alicia and Matril only had _one_ thing in common. Both worked for _Tenno Intelligence_. Karen swallowed hard. "Ah..."

"Stay here." Iriana commanded. "I won't go far and I will be back as quickly as I can. But if this is what I _think_ , you are not cleared for it." She slumped a bit. " _I_ may not be." She took a deep breath. "If he wakes again, try to keep him calm until the sedative kicks in. But do _not_ touch his mind again."

"Yes, Healer." Karen said sadly, looking at Sean's face. Even in sleep, the male Tenno's visage was wracked by pain and fear.

Iriana smiled at her a bit sadly and left the room. Sheila and Kat started working on the counter agents again. Karen was left to think. She did not like what she was thinking. If Tenno had altered Sean's mind, then... why? Was he a threat? He certainly did not act like one. He had saved her life on Phobos and had fought hard to keep a selfish jerk from abusing the Code and getting away with it. This was confusing, even more confusing than her life and _that_ was saying something. For someone who had started out human and wound up Tenno through a series of unlikely events, she had managed fairly well with the help of her kin. She still had problems, but she had outlets now and no lack of assistance with her clan and the Corps that she belonged to as well. Not that she could tell anyone about that generally. For one thing, not many in the Solar System would _believe_ her if she told them she was an Orokin Marine since they had all died in the Collapse. Well, all but one.

Just thinking about Gunny Miguel was enough to bring a smile to Karen's face. The old codger was a law unto himself in so many ways. But he was also a ramrod of some incredibly durable metal. He had taken so much, endured so much and come out stronger for it. He was an inspiration to every Marine and most everyone else who knew him, Tenno and human alike.

Her ruminations cut off as Sean groaned into the tube in his mouth again. She immediately checked his vitals, but they hadn't changed. His eyes were covered, but his face showed he was awake, if not coherent. He might not be able to see, but he could hear her even if she was denied Tenno mental communication.

"Sean, be calm." Karen said softly as she moved to his bedside again. "You are hurt and sick. We are helping you."

She took his hand and it grasped hers tightly. She could hear him pleading in his mind to let him finish what he had been doing. But he couldn't remember what that was. She held his hand until the machinery, sensing his distress, increased the flow of sedative and he slipped back into a fitful sleep. She slumped a bit as she backed to the wall. She could feel Sheila's scrutiny and shook her head.

"I could hear him, Sheila." Karen slumped a bit. "He is confused. He remembers he had to do something but not what. I don't think he remembers the duel."

"That may be for the best." Kat did not look up from his work, but his voice carried. Karen grimaced but nodded. "There are _going_ to be repercussions for what happened. But what? I don't know."

"Me neither." Karen admitted. "And that scares me. Bad enough what that idiot did to _me_ , but _that?_ "

Striking without a formal beginning to the duel and then cheating _during_ it? She was more than a bit disturbed by that. She was _also_ disturbed by other comments that the clan had overheard. Some said that what José had done was perfectly justified. That it was _Sean's_ fault for pushing so hard. The clan's official response was silence. No one was to give the naysayers more ammunition. Tenno were not supposed to be gossips, but the fact was that a grapevine was the only source of communication faster than Void travel. Rarely _accurate_ communications, but very fast. A few, _very_ few, blamed Karen fro precipitating the events. Those who the Elders caught wind of found themselves doing very unpleasant things as punishment for slander, but it would not curb the rumors.

"Tenno are not perfect." Kat said quietly. "We make mistakes just like any other. We screw up and generally think with our genitalia just like the humans we came from originally far too often." Karen slumped a bit and Kat turned to smile at her. "Buck up, sister. You are in the right here. The Elders all agree that. If some ignorant twits cannot see the truth when it slaps them in the face? That is _their_ problem."

"Thanks Kat." Karen straightened a little and then stiffened as the hatch opened again and Iriana stormed in. "Uh... Healer?"

"They either don't know or won't say." Iriana snapped. "Dammnitall! Intelligence did _something_ to this Tenno. I am supposed to _wait_ for Sun before I do anything else with his mind or energy."

"Intelligence?" Karen made a face that Kat shared. Sheila remained silent. Wise of her.

"Yeah." Iriana snarled and then forced herself to relax. "Okay, okay..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We need to focus on his wounds and the toxins. Karen, you are to remain until Sun can vet you." Karen paled but nodded. She wasn't _about_ to cross the Grandmaster of Tenno interrogators. "Make yourself comfortable. It might be a while."

"Oh?" Kat asked, still ensconced in his search for counters to the poisons that Sean had been shot with.

"Sun is talking to José."

"Oh."

* * *

Nearby

"I don't like this, Tenno Alicia." The human lying on the exam bed was not comfortable despite the bed being form fitting and self adjusting to support her. It was very hard for her to get comfortable. The third trimester of pregnancy was rarely one of comfort. "I do not like just sitting around doing nothing."

"We are looking into options, Mercedes." Alicia reassured the young woman. "And I wouldn't call what you do 'nothing'." She was wearing robes instead of her warframe and her smile was genuine. "You and Vina are both incredible at organizing the chaos into something that can be interpreted. It was what you trained for just as I trained for other things. But it is _not_ nothing."

"She has _always_ been like that, Tenno Alicia." The other person in the room said as Mercedes blushed. Vina's smile went huge as Mercedes tried to glare at her. It didn't work very well. Mercedes simply wasn't mean enough to make it work. "She _never_ thinks she does enough." The former executive paused and then smirked. "Well... _**maybe**_ with _Horatius_..."

" _Vina!_ " Mercedes exclaimed, her cheeks flaming.

Alicia was shaking her head at the byplay as she finished the checkup. "No problems, Mercedes. You and your little one are doing fine. Are you _sure_...?"

"I read somewhere that it was once traditional for parents not to know what gender their child was until birth." Mercedes said with a small frown. "In the Corpus, _everything_ was engineered. You knew it down to the hair and eye color before the womb tank opened. You knew gender and even roughly how long they would live. I never talked about it with Horatius..."

"You had _other_ things on your mind." Vina said with another smirk. Mercedes went pink again and Vina shook her head. "It's true."

"Okay, okay..." Mercedes heaved a fake sigh and her smile was wide. "Yes, it is. I wanted to be surprised and he was willing to accommodate me on that."

"Some surprises are good." Alicia said with a smile that faded slightly. "You two settling in okay?"

"We are managing." Vina chuckled. "You know? I never thought about that word in this context, but that _is_ what we are doing for the care center and for ourselves. Instead of juggling staff, budgets, expenditures and such, we are juggling emotions, needs, wants, and availability. At least her odd cravings haven't been too extreme."

"I will be very glad to be able to treat the father of our child properly again." Mercedes said with a small frown. "But other than that? No problems."

"Groups of three can be hard, even when one is not a soldier and away for long periods." Alicia said with a shrug. "If either of you ever need to talk, _someone_ will be available. I know Iriana will always give you time."

"She is so busy. _Too_ busy." Vina's face proclaimed her exasperation. "She is trying to bury her emotions in her work. They won't stay buried and she knows it, but she continues. We each deal with our pain in our own ways. But she will need time to relax soon."

"Yeah." Alicia helped Mercedes sit up and knelt down to slide warm socks on her feet. Mercedes made a face but did not struggle. This time anyway. Once had been enough to find out that Alicia was not to be crossed. She had found herself halfway back to her quarters bundled in a wheelchair before she had managed more than three counters to the medic's arguments. Vina had found the whole episode to be endlessly entertaining. Mercedes had _not_. "Back to work?"

"Yep." Vina moved to stand by the table as Mercedes slid off it to stand upright. Neither of them helped her and she was glad of that. She was ungainly, but she _could_ still walk, dammnit! "Three days until the next checkup?"

"Yeah." Alicia smiled and patted Mercedes hand. "I know you are chafing. Change is rarely easy and you have been through a lot in the last few months. We are here to help you cope. No more. Now go on, scat and dream about what you will do with your paramour when your kid is out and about." Her smile was wicked as Mercedes blushed again. Vina just shook her head.

The two humans left the room, Mercedes still blushing as Vina whispered something to her. Alicia stared after them and then slumped.

"It isn't our fault, Alicia." A voice came from the side. Neither woman had noticed the other occupant of the room. Not surprising. When Matril didn't want to be seen, he _wasn't_.

"That was a hell of a shock, Matril." Alicia said softly. "I know secrets are our business, but _that?_ It is going to come out sooner or later. You _know_ it will. This whole thing was ugly enough without adding Sean's past into it."

"He is _not_ who he was." Matril eased into view and Alicia bent down to pet him. He purred. It was what cats _did_ , even Special Operations recon cats. "Sun wouldn't have made any mistakes with the wipe. You know this."

"I know it." Alicia heaved a sigh. " _You_ know it. Sean deserves a chance at a better life than he had. But..."

"I know." Matril said quietly.

"He won't get it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Details**

"What?"

It wasn't everyday that Healer Iriana felt the entire world pulled out from underneath her. It had happened to her far more frequently recently than she had ever wanted, but still, not every day. Sun stood where he had since he had arrived, a silent white armored presence that was just as unnerving in his own way as Nikis.

"I performed the mindwipe, Healer." The interrogator was calm. He was rarely anything else. "His past is past. There are no changes from what I did. He is cleared."

"Who-?" Iriana broke off and shook her head. "You can't tell me who he was or what he did and even if you could, you wouldn't, wouldn't you?"

"He chose to be what he is." Sun replied. "A warrior brother."

"Is the secret that tightly held?" Iriana looked at the screen that showed Sean sleeping. The counter agents had worked. The toxins had been neutralized and his wounds tended. He would wake in a few hours. The open question was how he would be mentally after such an ordeal caused by a fellow Tenno. "If _I_ discovered it, _others_ will. It is going to come out when the moron goes to trial. We Tenno do not live for sensationalism like some humans, but it is simply too good a story to stay under wraps once it gets out of our clan's control. What will he do when it is revealed that he was mindwiped?"

"If needed, Intelligence will act. He can be given a new identity." Sun replied, not quite responding to Iriana's question.

"Sun, he is a brother now. A _good_ brother. Honorable and considerate to his kin." Iriana heaved a sigh. "He saved Karen. Would who he was before have done so? Have challenged kin for a breach in the Code?"

"I cannot answer that, Healer." The interrogator replied, still so maddeningly calm.

"Drat you." Irina scowled but shook her head. "All right. Did you or Nikis find anything altered in the people this Inaros told you about or in Karen? Or is _that_ classified beyond my clearances too?" She asked snidely.

"We didn't find anything in the others, Healer." Sun replied. "But that in and of itself doesn't mean anything. You know how difficult it can be to trace energy paths." Iriana nodded, manifestly against her will. "I will say Karen is clean. She only touched Sean for a moment and there was no trace back. Sean seems to be clean as well, but I recommend keeping him under observation for a few days." Iriana stared at him.

"Here?" The Healer asked carefully.

"Here." Sun agreed. "This has top of the line security as well as two Intelligence personnel on staff. Anywhere else outside of ultra secure facilities where he cannot go would be less secure than this dojo."

"He... _cannot_..." Iriana shook her head.

This didn't make any sense to her. Avalon had the best security of any human or Tenno facility known to exist in the solar system. It was where the _Lotus_ called home for goodness sakes! She was missing something. She knew she was. But the dratted interrogator wouldn't tell her even if she guessed correctly.

"So Karen is clear." Iriana shook her head. "Tiana will probably ask her to stay close to Sean. The girl feels indebted. My question for you then... Will _Sean_ feel indebted to _Inaros_?"

"That... is a _very_ good question, Healer." Sun said quietly. "Our records show Inaros as a renegade. Nikis says otherwise and Inaros' actions have been atypical for any renegade I have ever heard of. But Nikis... does not always tell the truth."

"Nikis lies whenever the hell he feels like it." Iriana corrected the Loki Prime grimly. Sun nodded, accepting the point. "If he wasn't who he was, he wouldn't get away with _half_ of the crap he has done. I mean... Barging into closed meetings? _Shooting_ Elders? And then what he did with _Eliza_..." She shuddered in memory.

"Healer..." Sun's voice turned a little resigned. For him, that was a groan of disapproval. "History is written by the victors. But for much of _our_ recent history, there _were_ none. _No one_ won the Old War. _No one_ won in the Collapse. Not Orokin, not Tenno, not Sentient. No one. The Citadel's records _end_ when they closed themselves off. Avalon's are mostly ancient history. And frankly? The records of both groups are inaccessible to most and lack a great deal of detail. He is the _only_ source of information for much of our history now. I will say this, he has _never_ personally benefited from any lies that I know of." Iriana stared at him and Sun nodded at her expression. "If he lies about something, he has a damn good reason. He doesn't do it to hurt people or to make things easier for himself."

"I know." Iriana sat and put her head in her hands. "I just... I want things to be as they were. I was happy as a Healer at the hospital."

"For what it is worth, Healer..." Sun looked away. "You have my apology. I thought I could use Gilliananhorisa and her retinue. That was my mistake and it cost you and this clan dearly."

"I got Janna out of it, so it wasn't _all_ bad." Iriana said softly. "Speaking of... She is asking to talk to Sean. Would that be all right?"

"Healer, he isn't my concern now that I have checked him out." Sun actually sounded gentle now. Iriana looked at him and he shrugged. "If _anyone_ needs to give permission, it is _you_. You are her mother now."

"Yeah." Iriana smiled a little but the smile faded. "I just feel..." To her shock, Sun laid a hand on her arm. She stared at it and then at the Loki Prime.

"You have not let yourself recover." Sun said quietly. Iriana just stared at him and he shook his head slowly. "Healer, we need you. We need you _sane_. You do not want to hear this, but I will say it anyway. You need to stop. Take a break."

"That is what I am _doing!_ " Iriana protested.

"Not a break in a _workday_ , Healer." The Interrogator said firmly. "A _vacation_. Time away from work." He dropped his hand from her arm and looked away again. "I am not one to speak of such things, but you are ignoring everyone else." Iriana stared at him and then gave a small cry, putting her face back in her hands. "Healer, please?" Was he _begging?_

"Healing is all I know." Iriana was crying now softly. "All I do well. Everything else I screw up."

"You are going to come apart, Healer." Sun shook his head. "I am partially responsible for your hurts. Yours and Janna's. If we can find a safe place for you to go and relax, will you?"

"That worked so well last time." Irina grimaced, remembering a nut trying to kill her daughter Mishka for who the girl's father was. She didn't blame people for anger, but Mishka had had anything to do with Stalker.

"You _were_ calmer afterward." Sun replied. Iriana looked at him and then nodded. "Here, you are in charge. You are the ultimate authority in this medical bay and the responsibility is crushing you. You are _not_ recovered from your ordeals. You need more time."

"Where would I _go_ , Sun?" Irina demanded, her voice halfway to shrill. "Anywhere I go, the nuts can find me! I won't put others at risk guarding me from our own kin!"

"We are working on that."

* * *

A recovery room

"Sean?"

Sean woke from his half doze and smiled as Karen entered the room. She smiled back. Nothing improper there, just a sister and a brother who had both been hurt and were glad to see each other on the mend.

"Hello Karen." Sean moved little in the bed, grateful for the form fitting mattress that supported him. "Come to check up on me?"

"I had Sun vet me." Karen grimaced and Sean shared it. Even when the interrogator was gentle, it was _not_ a pleasant experience. "I am clear of anything wrong and so are you."

"I am glad." Sean shook his head. "I wish I remembered what happened. Sun told me. But I cannot really believe it. José _shot_ me in an honor duel that he had specifically demanded swords for?"

"Yeah." Karen moved to the bedside and took Sean's hand in her own. He was able to move, just very weak as a result of the toxins he had been hit with. "Fear makes people do dumb things, but _that?_ Almost everyone is mad at him now." Sean looked at her. That last sounded odd to his ears.

" _Almost_ everyone?" Sean queried and Karen sighed.

"Yeah." The female Tenno was sad now. "Apparently, if you scare a Tenno, they are well within their rights to abuse any rule anywhere according to _some_." Rage sang in her tone, but she squelched it. "Some are even blaming _me_. Saying I was slow on purpose to antagonize that backstabbing little-" She broke off as Sean squeezed her hand.

"Sister, be calm." Sean asked. Karen took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I am angry too. Honor is important to us. Without honor, we are no more than mercenaries at best and _bandits_ at worst. We would have no _reason_ to follow the Code." He blew out a long breath that had the monitors attached to his bed send an audible warning. "Dang these things. I hope the docs let me loose soon."

"They will now that they are sure you are clear of any mental problems." Karen replied. Sean grimaced and nodded. "Brother, the one who helped you has a reputation for doing just that. Altering people's minds. Do you blame people for being wary?"

"No." Sean replied instantly. "It's just... I talked with him, sister. He did not strike me as someone who uses power capriciously. If he saw some advantage in seeding my mind with a deep compulsion, I have no doubt he could have. But he seemed honestly distressed by what was happening and why. He seemed a good Tenno. Or maybe I am just seeing good where none exists."

"Nikis says he was slandered by the Orokin." Karen said quietly. Sean nodded. "Now, Nikis is old and scary. He always seems to have a plan or some kind of motive for things. But you only see it after the fact. One thing I _am_ sure of though, Nikis will never act to harm our kin as whole. One on one, sure. He may scare you or hurt you or kill you. But _all_ of us? No."

"You seem to know Nikis better than me." Sean said with a smile. Karen made a face.

"He made a _hell_ of an impression the first time I saw him in action." Karen's voice was hushed now. "Twelve guards barring our path. Nikis with his two pistols. No one _died_." Sean stared at her and then whistled in awe. "Yeah. He could have killed them all far more easily. He _chose_ not to. Just him showing up makes the guards wet themselves every time they see him arrive."

"Can't blame them." Sean slumped a bit. He was very tired. "I only met him the once. That I remember anyway." The clan knew about Sean's past. What he did anyway. "Does it bother you that I was mindwiped?"

"On one level, it does." Karen admitted after a moment's thought. "On others? You saved my life, brother. Whoever or _what_ ever you were before, now you are a brother I am proud to know."

"The feeling is mutual, sister."

* * *

Phobos

"No."

The small cavern was familiar. Inaros had used it to talk to Sean. Now he was using it to talk to another Tenno, if a _very_ different one.

"If that is your final word, then so be it." Nikis didn't sound happy, but he wasn't angry either. "It would solve a number of problems but I am not stupid enough to press you. The Elders..." He shook his head. "You scare them."

" _You_ scare them." Inaros retorted with a wicked chuckle. "I am simply tarred with same brush because I was your student." Nikis shrugged, but his posture was amused. "I wish I could, Nikis, but..."

Both froze as another voice sounded.

"Hello?" Nikis went still as a human woman in a blue gown appeared in the entryway. She wore an ornate headdress. She froze on seeing Inaros and Nikis. "Um, my apologies, Guardian Inaros. I heard voices. I did not know you had a guest."

"It is all right, Callisto." Inaros nodded to her and she relaxed a little, peering at Niksi with open curiosity. "Callisto, colony matriarch, meet Nikis, my first teacher."

"Oh." Callisto smiled wide. "We are honored, master Tenno." She bowed formally to Nikis who seemed stunned, but he recovered quickly.

"The honor is mine, Matriarch." Nikis replied evenly, returning her bow with one of his own. "I am pleased to see you well."

"Well?" Callisto asked and then shook her head. " _Busy_. This place needs a _lot_ of work. We are going to be very busy for quite some time repairing and refurbishing. on that note- Ellen asked me to see if you had any more thoughts on expanding the food preparation and eating areas, Inaros."

"That woman..." Inaros actually groaned and Callisto smiled as he shook his head. "She takes it as a _personal_ affront if any of us miss meals." He explained to Nikis who stifled a laugh. "Go on, laugh it up. She would give _anyone_ I have met a run for their money in stubbornness. She keeps making food for _me_."

"And you _eat_ it." Callisto didn't seem bothered by his distress. Inaros glowered at her and she shrugged. "You know better than to let it go bad. She would sic Pip on you." Inaros actually recoiled. Nikis looked curious and Callisto smiled. "Pip is Ellen's son. I swear _he_ runs this place, not me. He does a good job though." Inaros glowered some more and she shrugged. "I will tell her it can wait."

"Do you object to visitors?" Nikis asked. Callisto looked at him even as Inaros growled something under his breath that sounded vile.

"Haven't had any." Callisto sounded completely unperturbed by Inaros' temper. "So, we do not have any experience to go by. You want to visit?"

"I am too busy." Nikis sounded truly sad about that. "But I know some others who might like to visit. Who could use a break. Who might like to see what you do and how."

" _Nikis_." Inaros warned.

"Inaros." Callisto's voice was quiet, but he stiffened anyway. "Is there a problem?"

"I..." Inaros slumped and nodded. "The last time I let someone visit, she died as a result." Callisto stilled and then laid her hand on Inaros' arm.

"It wasn't your fault, what happened to Mandi." Nikis said quietly.

"I came too close to losing my mind as a result, Nikis. Too close to hurting you and Trinity." Inaros laid his free hand on Callisto's and she smiled sadly at him. "I _cannot_ take the chance again."

"Inaros." Callisto said softly. "If we wall ourselves off from _everyone_ , we shut out the _good_ as well as the _bad_. I know you want to keep us safe. I know we stretch your patience, we pushy and silly humans. But we do know that you are protecting us. What are your objections to someone visiting? Your past?"

"I don't _have_ to be in control of everything, Callisto. Nor do I _want_ to." Inaros said softly. "But yes, the thought of outsiders coming in bothers me. Both because of the past and because of what just happened with Sean."

"That wasn't _your_ fault!" Callisto protested, looking at Nikis who nodded. "How could you have stopped such a thing? You had no idea that little fool would act in such a disrespectful manner." Nikis stared at her and Callisto shrugged. "It upset him badly. I made him explain."

"Oh?" Nikis put a wealth of query into that simple word. Inaros shook his head savagely.

"He takes the _world_ on his shoulders, Tenno Nikis." Callisto said softly. "And we love him for it." She hugged Inaros, much to his apparent consternation. She released the discomfited Tenno and strode for the entry. She paused and there and turned back to look at Inaros. "We will talk."

Then she was gone. Inaros stared after her, muttering under his breath. Nikis shook his head.

"I didn't mean that." Nikis sounded genuinely apologetic. "I _really_ didn't mean to do that to you."

"You _know_ she is going to insist." Inaros groaned. Nikis nodded. " _Dang_ it, man..."

"I am sorry, Inaros." Nikis sounded truly regretful. "It slipped out. I was thinking about getting her opinion. I didn't _think_ it would undercut your authority."

" _She_ is the authority here, Nikis." Inaros corrected the Nekros grimly. Nikis froze and Inaros chuckled without mirth. "I guard the colony, she _runs_ it. And if she gets _Ellen_ in on wanting visitors... Man... I am so _screwed_. Those two are bad enough even when they don't get the _kid_ involved."

"The clan Iriana is with won't let her loose without some kind of watch." Nikis replied, his tone understanding. "Figure two or three kilometers of extra depth perimeter while she is here and a strong backup minutes away." Inaros looked at Nikis who shrugged. "Warlord Tiana insisted I ask. Iriana is not doing so well. Sean will want to come too, I bet."

"We are _not_ running a _resort_." Inaros snapped.

"No." Nikis agreed. "You are protecting a colony and doing a damn good job of it. We could use you out in the black but even here, you are making a difference."

"Don't try to BS me, Nikis." Inaros warned. "I am not happy with you at the moment."

"I am not." Nikis said simply. "Hard as it may be to believe, I want you back with us. There are too few Guardians now and we are getting a bit long in the tooth. Let us know what you decide." Inaros stared at him and then sighed and gave in to the inevitable.

"I will... let you know what _they_ decide."


	10. Chapter 10

**Shades of Thought**

She wasn't sure about this at all. Sean was beside her, but he was out of his warframe and unarmed. The gown she wore was mirrored by the long tunic he wore. Both were a pleasing shade of blue. That wasn't the problem. She carried her basic kit, gear that she didn't go _anywhere_ without. _That_ wasn't the problem. She had even remembered to take nausea suppressants before the portal transit. They sometimes made her sick and while she could usually control her body's reactions, showing up with her stomach contents on her shoes rarely made a good impression. _**That**_ wasn't the problem.

The problem was walking beside her on the opposite side from Sean, clad in a blue gown identical to Iriana's, if smaller.

"They won't let you in." Iriana said for about the tenth time. Mishka looked at her mother and then looked away. None of the Tenno in warframes that surrounded the trio made any comment as Mishka ignored her mother. "Mishka, they won't let you stay."

"Iriana." The Ember Prime at Iriana's right shoulder spoke softly, but firmly. "She is your daughter. You know she will not change her mind."

"Jasmina, the were clear. Sean and myself. No one else. That is the reason I told _Janna_ she couldn't come!" The Healer protested as the _wall_ of warframes moved forward around her. The clan was taking no chances with her safety. Phobos was not even remotely a 'safe' place, but when a clan and _more_ of Tenno suddenly wanted a part of it to be clear of Grineer? It _was_. "It is not safe."

Mishka just shook her head and remained silent. The young Tenno bard wasn't armed, but no one sane would call her defenseless.

"Iriana." The Ember Prime shook her head and her voice was a mix of rueful and resigned. "Pick battles you can win. You are _not_ going to win this one. _They_ might turn her away, nothing _else_ will. Mishka is her mother's daughter and comes by her stubbornness honestly." Iriana stared at the eldest Tenno Caretaker of the Unclean and then heaved a sigh as they walked.

She hadn't been enthused by this when Nikis had proposed it. She knew she was likely the best Tenno Healer currently available in dealing with mental problems or determining if someone had been brainwashed. The problem was, _she_ had been more than once recently. Just the thought of putting herself into someone else's power, even if Nikis promised she would be safe, made her skin crawl.

She trusted Nikis. Mostly. Kind of. She didn't always _like_ him , but she knew more about him than probably anyone since the First. He had come to her for help after Janet had driven his madness back. To this day, she had no idea how Janet had done that, but she was glad of it. She liked Nikis. Most of the time anyway. His sense of humor was absolutely depraved and he was far more prone to violence than almost any other Tenno she knew. Which was saying something. Thing was... He did not give his word often. And when he _did_ , he did not give it lightly.

He promised her that she would be safe with Inaros. That she could relax. She wasn't sure she could. So much had happened... So much had changed...

"Mom." Mishka's voice was soft as the girl took Iriana's hand. "It's okay."

"I hope so." Iriana swallowed as the corridor the group was following opened up and a sandy clearing shone ahead of them. She took in the ancient weathered pillars and the line in the sand that was far more defined than she had thought it would be from Sean's descriptions. She swallowed hard as the circle of warframes around her parted and she saw a dark hole into the cliff side ahead. It was too regular to be natural.

The clan took up positions all around, weapons ready, but pointed outward. Iriana jerked as Sean stepped forward all the way to the line in the sand. There he waited, silent.

"I wasn't sure you would come." More than one Tenno jerked and then pointed their weapons elsewhere as Nikis walked out of a cross corridor and moved to stand near Iriana.

"I don't want to be here, Nikis." Iriana snapped and then froze.

"I know." For once, the hardbitten ancient gunfighter's tone was not caustic or angry. Deep sadness sang inside it. He looked at Mishka and shook his head. "They won't let you in, girl."

"She is my mom." Mishka said simply and stood, arms crossed. "You may trust this Inaros. I don't."

"Mishka." Nikis actually winced.

"She is my mom." Mishka declared. "Maybe they will turn me away, but I have the right to _ask_ , don't I?"

 _She has got you there, ya old fart._ Every eye turned to the cave entrance where a tall gangly looking form was now visible.

"You won't let her in." Nikis said with a sigh.

 **You** _made darn sure_ **I** _don't have a say in it._ Was Inaros _laughing_ at Nikis? He was! Iriana stared from the ancient Nekros to Inaros and back. _You are in no danger here, Healer Iriana. No one will touch you without your consent._

"I do not believe you." Mishka snapped. "I know what you are even if Nikis will not say." Jasmina moved to stand beside Mishka, but did not interfere otherwise as the girl snarled at the half hidden warframe.

 _And what am I?_ Inaros asked quietly. Mishka stared at him and her face turned angry.

"You are an oathbreaker." Mishka kept her voice flat. "You betrayed the Orokin. You killed them."

 _I killed Orokin who lied to me._ Inaros replied without heat. _Who lied to Hayden and the other First. I do not deny that. To save a young life? I would do it again. But that is not why you are angry, Healer's child._ Mishka jerked and turned an accusing glare on Nikis who shrugged.

"I didn't tell him anything." Nikis sounded _bored_ now. "Didn't know you would be here. Should have figured you wouldn't listen to instructions." He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "You got too much of your mom in you."

"Then _why_ am I angry?" Mishka demanded with a snarl. Iriana laid a hand on her daughter's arm and Mishka was trembling. With rage or with terror, it was hard to say.

 _You think you are the first child who has had to watch their parent fall apart, young one?_ Inaros asked softly. Mishka recoiled a little, but recovered. _You look at her and you want to help her. But you cannot._ Mishka jerked at each word. _I do not know if we can. But I give you my word, Healer's child. I will do my best._

"I want to stay with her."Mishka snapped.

 _That is not for me to say._ Inaros bowed his head and stepped aside. Everyone froze as two humans stepped into view. One, the male, wore ancient looking but functional armor and carried a Grakata as if he knew how to use it. The other, the female, wore a blue gown and an odd headdress. She was unarmed.

"I am Callisto, matriarch. I am pleased to meet you, Healer." The woman bowed from the neck to Iriana as if the two of them were the only ones present.

"I don't know if you will feel that way tomorrow." Iriana quipped weakly and Callisto smiled a bit sadly.

"Who can know what the future holds, Healer?" The matriarch said with a small shrug. "All we can do is go on. You are here to learn what happened to us. To determine if we live or die." Iriana stiffened as Nikis and Inaros both bowed their heads. None of the surrounding Tenno moved and Callisto shook her head. "We are not stupid. If it comes to conflict, even Inaros would be outmatched. I have no wish to see conflict between him and his kind. If my life will keep that from happening, I will give it. I know my people share that feeling." Inaros was staring at her, to all appearances, dumbfounded. Nikis seemed just as stunned. "Will you choose our deaths?"

"No!" The word burst from Iriana before she could stop it. "There has been _enough_ death! I..." She slumped a bit. "I am just so tired." Mishka gave her hand a squeeze and Iriana returned it.

"What we can give, we will." Callisto promised. "We offer sanctuary. We offer food and a place to sleep. We offer you unlimited access to our bodies and minds. That is the only way to prove the truth of what Inaros did."

"Before, he altered the minds of people." Mishka said with a growl worthy of a Heavy Grineer.

"Any society must have rules to function." Callisto said flatly. "He allowed the previous colonists to know each other on a deeper level than most humans are capable of while working to keep them safe." She glanced at Inaros who hadn't moved. "His methods are not always gentle, but according to every record I have found, he has always meant well." She shook her head. "You cannot trust that, so... What will inspire trust?"

"Let me stay with her." Mishka snapped.

"Mishka..." Nikis and Jasmina chorused and then looked at each other. For her part, Mishka did not move.

"Why would I deny that?" Callisto asked, to all appearances curious.

"I am a Caretaker of the Unclean." Mishka declared.

"And?" Callisto prompted. Mishka stared at her and the other woman made a face. "Child, you yourself are not Infested or these warrior Tenno would _not_ be so blasé about having you in their _midst_." The lilt in her tone was more humorous than actually biting. "I know little of what the Caretakers do. I have been told it is a horrible job."

"It is." Jasmina took a step forward to stand between Mishka and the matriarch. "She is my responsibility. But she is her own being and makes her own choices. We cannot trust you." Callisto nodded to her and Jasmina turned to Iriana. "Healer, we would welcome you."

"You would let me sleep." Iriana said softly. Jasmina nodded. "But..." The Healer looked from Inaros to Nikis to Callisto. "You cannot help me, Jasmina."

"You don't _know_ that!" Jasmina grated the words out past obviously clenched teeth.

"I need to work through this, Jasmina. Through my feelings about what happened to me." Iriana said softly. "And if I can help a lost brother in the process?" She stepped forward, pushing past Jasmina to stand by Sean, Mishka flanking her.

"Iriana!" Jasmina said sharply, then she threw her hands into the air and stepped back, muttering under her breath.

"I need to do this." Iriana said to Callisto. "Or I will never be able to trust my own mind. My fear is strong."

"From what I have been told, you have a right to it." Callisto stepped forward as well, right to the line. She held out a hand to Iriana. "I offer the safety of our colony. I offer a place to rest. I offer every record I have available as well as every soul within our colony for your examination. But this offer is not just for you." She held out her other hand to Sean. "Tenno Sean."

"Matriarch." Sean took her hand and bowed his head. "Trust is hard to reestablish once it has been violated. I owe a debt." He nodded to Inaros. "If I may aid, speak."

"We are a small colony." Callisto gave his hand a squeeze. "The debt is acknowledged, but we will not be stupid about demanding reparations for it. An extra pair of hands will be welcome. There is a lot of work that must be done to refurbish this colony."

"Iriana's safety is paramount." Sean said quietly even as Iriana hissed. "I must insist you protect her first." Callisto looked from him to Iriana who was glaring at him and smiled.

"I don't think she agrees with you." Callisto's grin was wicked as Sean winced. "Word of advice, Tenno Sean. Don't anger her. She seems not to be one to cross." More than one Tenno in the crowd muttered something that sounded like 'Hell no!' "Will you abide by our rules while you are here?"

"As long as Iriana's safety is not jeopardized, I will." Sean replied. Callisto nodded to accept the amendment. "Are your rules complex?"

"Not really." Callisto's smile became a grin. "No violence and everyone works." He looked at her and she nodded. "Even me. I was planting seeds for our second crop when Inaros told me you were coming."

"Don't tell me you are a commune." Iriana said slowly. Callisto shook her head. "What then?"

"It is hard to explain, but we are and are not sharing everything with each other." The matriarch reassured the Healer. "It is not communism, where the workers were supposed to be the ones to rule. It is sort of a democracy and sort of a monarchy and sort of a commune." She smiled at Iriana's expression. "For such a small community, it works. For anything larger, it wouldn't."

"And you are in charge?" Iriana asked, confused.

"I am the spokesperson." Callisto said with another smile. "Other than that? I do whatever I have to."

"Too much." The armored guard said under his breath. Callisto gave him a look and he subsided.

"We can explain, but not here." Callisto said softly. "We need to get out of the sun before the Grineer start launching long range artillery at this concentration of heat sources. You can leave at any time, Healer. We ask that you tell us when you wish to, so we may escort you out of our caves, but you will be able to go." She smiled at Mishka. "And your daughter is welcome as well."

"Janna is going to be mad..." Iriana said in a very soft voice as she held out her hand to Callisto. The matriarch took it and pulled Iriana into a hug. Iriana tensed for a moment and then relaxed.

"Another daughter?" Callisto asked. Iriana nodded and Callisto whistled in awe as she held Iriana. "How many children do you have?"

"Three, counting an adopted daughter who found another guardian." Iriana was shaking as Callisto held her. She was fighting tears in as Callisto pulled Mishka close. Mishka was tense, but relaxed as nothing happened beyond Callisto holding them both.

"You will _both_ be safe here." Callisto promised. "I swear it. I am not Tenno, but Inaros protects us and we are training to defend ourselves as best we can with few weapons. We should go inside."

Iriana turned to the other Tenno who were watching her silently. "I will be in touch."

"You _better_ be." There was a distinct aura of threat in Jasmina's words. Callisto nodded to the Ember Prime. Jasmina glared at Mishka and then stalked off.

"Come." Callisto pulled the other two women into the cave. Sean followed as Inaros took up position at the entrance. Iriana could see the other Tenno dispersing. "I can see you both are tired. Do you want to rest or meet everyone first?"

"If I lie down, I won't wake for some time." Iriana said sadly. "The last few days haven't been fun."

"I can see that." Callisto was leading them through dim corridors now. "But you are out on your feet. Rest first. We will have a community meal later. You can meet everyone and ask whatever you wish." She stopped at a door that looked if it were made of stone. A touch and it slid aide, showing a small room with two beds. Callisto looked at the bed and frowned. "We only planned for two."

"I am not going to sleep." Mishka said firmly. Callisto looked at her and wisely kept her mouth shut at Mishka's expression.

"Mishka, don't be rude." Iriana was weaving as Callisto led her to the bed and eased her up onto it. The matriarch helped her lie down and Iriana was falling asleep even as the matriarch pulled Iriana's boots off and covered her with a blanket.

"Rest well, Healer." Callisto said as she stepped to the door. Sean made way. Mishka did not. Callisto shook her head. "I have no quarrel with you, Mishka, Healer's daughter. I do not know if we can help her, but I want to try."

"How can you do it if Tenno medicine cannot?" Misha demanded.

"By making sure she is never alone." Callisto said softly. "By showing compassion and care while we let her rest as much as she can. By showing trust even when verbally attacked." Mishka just looked at her and Callisto shook her head. "You do not trust Inaros. I understand. But you are not dealing with _him_ now. You are dealing with me. With _us_."

"Prove it." Mishka snapped. She froze as Callisto reached out to her head and took something from her hair. It was a tiny metallic scarab.

"You will see many of these here." Callisto said softly. "We use these machines for many things. Medical care among other things. I will not lie to you, this will be difficult for all of us. But trust has to start _somewhere_ , Healer's daughter." She smiled at Sean who hadn't moved and shook her head. "We will talk later. Rest well."

The matriarch strode off, leaving Sean and Mishka to stare at one another. Mishka shook her head, strode into the room and sat on the floor beside the bed her mother was asleep in. She closed her eyes, starting a meditation.

For his part, Sean was stunned both by Iriana's exhaustion and Mishka's hostility. He wasn't sure how to take either one, but one thing he was sure of. This was going to be a very 'interesting' visit.

With _all_ of the proper connotations of the word 'interesting'.


	11. Chapter 11

**Mindsfields**

Mishka was a good kid. She loved her mother very much and she was very afraid for her mother. The reports that had reached the Caretakers about Iriana had been infuriating and terrifying in equal measure. All of the Caretakers and all of their charges liked Iriana. But they also knew their limits. The reports from Karl's Shadow clan had been frightening. Iriana was falling apart. Virtually the only thing holding her together now was her titanic will and all of the Caretakers knew that even that had its limits. No one said it aloud or even on the mental wavelength they shared, but everyone knew that the real reason that Mishka didn't want to leave Iriana's side was that she was afraid she wouldn't see her mom again.

Mishka had been as prepared as she could make herself. She had looked up every record she could find, beg, borrow or steal on Inaros. There hadn't been much. The mass mind had some memories that pertained to Ianros, but those were fragmentary at best. For one, Infested did not keep good records. For another, it had been a _very_ long time ago. She had tried to persuade her mother to come to the Caretakers even knowing that Jasmina, Elenia and the others probably couldn't help her if Brianna, Janna and the medics of the clan couldn't. She had been ready for almost anything.

Not this.

She had been expecting to deal with Inaros. Not a human who acted more like a Tenno than a human. Jasmina had been searching records since she had left and sending updates to Mishka. Mishka for her part was sending updates to the mass mind and Jasmina. None of them had _any_ idea how to react to this... this odd kindness. They had been expecting the colony to demand Iriana confined or at the very least questioned. They had _not_ expected the matriarch to basically _demand_ that Iriana sleep before doing anything else. All were wary. Mishka kept checking her mother for scarabs. She did not find any. She did not feel any change in her mother's energy.

It wasn't her fault that she was looking in the wrong places.

* * *

Iriana was crying, hugging herself as she sat. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know what was happening. All that she knew was that she was finally broken. She couldn't resist anymore. She was just so tired, so weary of...

"Ma'am?" A soft, worried voice pulled Iriana out of her tears for a moment. She stared up at a young boy who looked at her with sad eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"I... I..." Iriana swallowed, but she couldn't get the words out. The boy knelt down beside her and put his arms around her.

"It is okay." The boy said. "No one will hurt you." He smiled a little. "No one will _dare_. You need help. We will give you help. I just..." He slumped a bit as Iriana wailed a little in grief and fear. He hugged her tight. "It is all right, Ma'am. It is all right. My mom is coming. She will make it better." He was rocking gently, moving her as best his tiny mass could. He looked up and his voice held worry. "Mom?"

"I am here, Pip." An equally worried female voice sounded as a hand touched Iriana's shoulder. "Oh dear."

"She is so scared." Pip sounded scared himself. "What can I do?" He begged.

"Get the others, Pip." The woman commanded. "This is likely to take all of us." Pip hugged Iriana again and then his arms vanished. Before Iriana felt a sense of loss, other arms had surrounded her. "Healer, I know you can hear me." Iriana tried to reply but her throat wasn't working. "No, no. Don't try to talk. You have taken too much hurt, too much pain, too much anger and fear even for someone like you." Something happened and Iriana felt a great weight suddenly leave her. The other was suddenly crying. "Oh my god... How? _How_ can you _take_ such pain?"

"It is what I do." Iriana said weakly as the arms around her hugged her again.

"We cannot make it vanish." The other said sadly. "But we _can_ hold it at bay long enough for you to rest and recover your energy. As well, you will need your faculties to do what you must while here."

"You are in my mind." Iriana said weakly.

"Actually no." The other hugged her again. "You are in _ours_."

Something wrapped around Iriana. It was warm and comfortable. It was... She was...

* * *

Mishka jerked as her mom sat up in the bed. The girl felt terror blossom as Iriana's gaze swept over her and the Healer showed no recognition, but then awareness surfaced. The Healer looked at her daughter and her smile was genuine if a bit strained.

"Mom?" Mishka could feel a change, but not what.

"Mishka, you stubborn girl!" Irina said with a fake snap. "When are _you_ going to sleep?"

"When you are out of here." Mishka said flatly. Iriana sighed, but she did not argue. "Are you all right?"

"I am not sure." Iriana admitted. "I was falling apart. The fear and pain were too much. I was drowning in it. They did something." Mishka tensed, but Iriana shook her head. "There was a little boy and his mother. They pulled me away from it. I am thinking clearly again."

"Are you _sure_?" Mishka demanded.

"Mishka, you know better." Iriana replied calmly as she checked her body over, finding nothing out of the ordinary. "The mind is a complex thing in _humans_. In Tenno, it gets downright _confusing_. All I know is that my mind is clear for the first time in _days_. I do not know what they did..." She trailed off as Sean entered the room, followed by the matriarch.

"Pip felt your pain and he was drawn to it like an ethermoth to a flame." Callisto said softly. "He is very empathic, but he is only five years old."

"What did you do to my _mom_?" Mishka snapped as she rose, her hands in a ready position.

"Mishka, no." Iriana laid a hand on her daughter's arm. Her gaze was speculative as she looked at the matriarch. "That wasn't virtual, was it?" Callisto shook her head. "If I may ask a trifle more respectfully, what did you do?"

"We shared your pain." Callisto said quietly. "It was too much for any one of us to bear, so we each took a little." Iriana stared at her and Callisto shrugged. "Your pain was not physical. It was not mental. It was both and _neither_. Spiritual. This is what we do. What we _are_. We share."

"You... _took_... it." Iriana swallowed. "And?"

"And spread across a hundred and nine people, it is _far_ less powerful." Callisto smiled gently. "If we had known how bad it was, I would have offered immediately. Pip realized and took matters into his own hands. Silly boy." Her tone mixed admiration with exasperation.

"Mom?" Mishka begged. Iriana gave her arm a squeeze.

"Let me get more information before _any_ of us act, Mishka." This was a command and Mishka relaxed a little. But only a little.

"You think we will censure her for _loving_ you?" Callisto asked, incredulous. "Of course she fears for you. We do as well and we barely _know_ you." She smiled at Mishka's expression. "We have not altered your mother in any way. We have not stolen anything from her but her overwhelming pain and fear. Test that any way you must. I only ask that you refrain from violence, no more."

"What will you do with it?" Iriana asked, marveling that her emotions were clear and bright again. "You cannot hold it forever or it will hurt _you_."

"No." Callisto admitted. "But we can give you ease for a time, let you rest. Recover. You need it." Iriana nodded.

"Then you will give it back." Iriana said flatly. Mishka made a noise of protest, but subsided when Iriana squeezed her arm. "Mishka, such power will kill if they hold it too long. My first oath was 'do no harm.' I will not knowingly break that oath."

"Taken in small doses over a period of time, it will be easier to handle the load." Callisto promised the girl. "But for now, rest easy. This will not harm us for some time. We have much to speak of, but it can wait until you have had a full night's sleep." Iriana looked at the matriarch and then nodded. She lay back on the bed. She gave her daughter's arm another squeeze.

"Be good, Mishka." Iriana said as she closed her eyes. In moments, she was breathing evenly. Mishka stared at her mom and then at Callisto. Her gaze was not friendly. Callisto waved to the door and left the room.

"What have you done to her?" Mishka snapped softly as she moved to block the door.

"We pulled her pain and fear away from her. No more." Callisto replied, not fazed at all by Mishka's hostility. "She is exhausted from fighting those. She will need time and care to recover her full energy. Only then will we let her have it back in packets that she can handle."

"And if I refuse to let you put it back?" Mihska demanded. She was ready for anger. She was _not_ prepared for Callisto to sigh.

"You are angry and afraid." Callisto said softly. "But are you willing to kill every member of this colony?" Mishka froze and Callisto nodded. " _That_ is how strong your mother's pain is. I am amazed she could function. I guess the tales that Nikis had told us were not exaggerated in the slightest. But this is not about her, is it? What has the colony done to earn you ire, Healer's daughter?"

"He did something to you." Mishka declared. "I won't let you do it to her."

"Yes, he did." Callisto agreed. "But no one sane would do to her what he did to me. I _made_ him do it to me. I fought and in doing so, I _died_." Mishka froze at that and Callisto nodded. "I remember who I was and what happened. Her name was Cally. She -I- was angry. She had lost so much, seen so much, _done_ so much. One must always take care when fighting monsters, not to become what they fight. She did not care. _We_ did not care. We had nothing left to lose but our lives and we _did_ lose them."

"Yet here you stand." Mishka wasn't shaken at all by this revelation.

"Yes, here I stand." Callisto agreed. "Not as Cally, that poor doomed girl who had been shot twice and never realized that an artery had been nicked inside her body. That she was dead while still on her feet." Mishka stared at her and Callisto nodded again. "I am Callisto, matriarch of this colony. I have Cally's memories and the memories of four others. Three matriarchs and a cook." The girl's eyes were huge now and Callisto smiled. "Etrina was asked to be a matriarch, but she wanted to stay a cook. In many ways, she still led the colony from her kitchen."

"I can't believe this." Mishka backpedaled. "I... I can't."

"Then believe that we want to help your mother. We have selfish reasons." Callisto replied. "She is to vet us and if she is distracted, she cannot do so."

"And if you are warping her mind?" Mishka snapped.

"If we were..." Callisto seemed to swell suddenly. "You and she would never notice." Mishka scoffed and Callisto smiled, but there was nothing friendly about it. "You will see enemies where there are none. So be it. We will harm none of you but we will also not allow you to poison Iriana with your unreasoning hate."

" _Unreasoning_?" Mishka was a hairsbreadth from losing her temper. Then something pinched her leg and she was falling. Strong hands caught her as strength left all of her limbs. She stared up at Callisto as the matriarch looked down at her.

"Yes." Callisto slumped a little as Sean laid Mishka on the floor. "It will be all right, Mishka." Mishka was trying to struggle, trying to fight as Callisto pulled a small brown thing from Mishka's leg and placed it behind her ear. Another little pinch and Mishka knew no more.

* * *

"I half expected you to take her side." Callisto said sadly as Sean gathered the slumbering girl up.

"I am withholding judgment." Sean replied. "But this doesn't seem rational. She is not a bigot or stupid. So I m not sure why she is acting this way."

"People have done dumb things for love since before the dawn of recorded history." Callisto replied with a small frown. "This does seem excessive though. She will _not_ be happy when she wakes but violence is strictly forbidden in these halls. The last thing we want is for _her_ to suffer the penalty for such. There is only one."

"Penalty?" Sean asked as he laid Mishka on the other bed and made sure she would be comfortable. Callisto just looked at him and he froze. "Oh. I see."

If there was only one penalty for the crime, then it would be the maximum possible. Death.

"It hasn't happened since my awakening and we pray it won't." The matriarch shook her head. "I do not want to do that to Inaros. He is not a violent being by nature. He hasn't had a choice in many situations. In all the memories I have access to, he has never acted capriciously or cruelly simply for the sake of doing so. But he _will_ protect us. From any threat, external or internal."

"I will stay with them." Sean promised. "And I will sit on Mishka if that is what it takes."

"First meal will be in six hours." Callisto touched Iriana's hand and frowned. "Iriana will sleep at least that long. She should get eight." She shook her head. "I would like to put her in the infirmary, but it wouldn't end well. Surgeon has no tact to speak of and the last thing we need is for them to be at each other's throats."

"She will want to check it out when she wakes." Sean warned.

"Six hours might be enough time for me to explain to Surgeon why he shouldn't insult the Healer or her daughter." Callisto shook her head. "Maybe."

"Sounds like fun." Sean grimaced as Callisto did.

"You have _no_ idea."

* * *

A virtual environment

"I KNEW I couldn't trust them." Mishka was fuming as she appeared in the virtual room. Same couch, same fake fire. Same rocking chair with the old woman in it who wasn't one.

"Calm down, Mishka." The mass mind was kind and gentle most of the time. This apparently was not going to be one of those times. "They are helping Iriana."

" _You_ could have!" Mishka snapped and froze as the old woman in her rocking chair glared at her. "I mean..."

"Mishka." The old woman pointed a gnarled finger at the couch. "Sit." This was _not_ a suggestion and Mishka did as instructed. "You _know_ how close we are to the edge, Mishka. You see it every _day_. Iriana's pain would be too much to take in. We would try. You know we would try if she let us. She won't. It would drive us to madness and she won't allow that."

Mishka stared at the representation of the mass mind and her brave front collapsed as the old woman smiled sadly at her and beckoned. In moments, Mishka was sitting on the old woman's lap, bawling as the other stroked her hair.

"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY MOM!" Mishka screamed as the old woman held her. She slumped as the soothing touch eased her pain and fear away.

"We will do everything in our power to see that you don't." The representation of the mass mind said as calmly energy flared from her hands and Mishka fell asleep in her lap. Then she nodded to the side. "Thank you for trying to help her."

Callisto bowed as he appeared. "I didn't understand. Now I do. You cannot help Iriana, can you?"

"No." The old woman holding Mishka said sadly. "And she knows it. So does Mishka here, but like any loving daughter, she doesn't want to accept that. We are many things, Matriarch Callisto. We are _not_ deities."

"Inaros will not be able to accept what you are." Callisto said quietly. "I will not hide the truth from him, but I will not offer it either. Either way, he will not harm Mishka unless she violates our hospitality."

"We will speak with her when she wakes here." The mind mass promised. "We will explain. She will likely be hostile, but she will refrain from violence. If needed, we will have Jasmina come and collect her. We would rather not do that. If these _are_ Iriana's last days, then she should be able to spend them with her family."

"And her other children?" Callisto asked, eyes glistening.

"Her other children are busy and both of them understand." The mass mind rubbed Mishka's hair and she murmured in her sleep. "Mishka is Iriana sole biological child. The bond between them is very strong."

"Yes." Callisto slumped a bit. "I feared we were walking into a minefield when Nikis proposed this. I was not wrong, was I?"

"No." The mass mind agreed. "But we can feel Iriana's ease even from this distance." Callisto stared at her and the mass mind smirked. "You are not the only ones with mind tricks."

"No." Callisto actually chuckled. "I can see we are not. We will be gentle."

"You better be." The mass mind warned. "Nikis is quite fond of Iriana." Callisto paled and nodded. "He knows how bad it is, few others do yet. Place your steps carefully, matriarch." The old woman who wasn't one warned. "This is not even close to resolved and few of the problems are visible. As you say, a minefield of _minds_."

"I understand. We will do what we can for Iriana." Callisto promised. She smiled kindly as Mishka turned in the other's arms. "And her kin."

The representation of the mass mind looked at the matriarch and then at Mishka. She shared the smile.


	12. Chapter 12

**Food for Thought**

Iriana woke up slowly, momentarily confused as to where she was. Then memory flooded in and she sat up, only to pause as Sean nodded to her from where he sat on the other bed. Mishka lay on the bed, her face unguarded in sleep and the pain that shone on it called to the Healer.

"How long?" She asked quietly.

"Six hours." Sean replied. "Mishka is still out."

"The other Caretakers are talking to her, helping her past her anger. You were right." Sean stared at her and Iriana shook her head. "It was unreasoning, but then again... Grief rarely is reasonable."

" _Grief_?" Sean froze at that word and Iriana bowed her head. "No." He pleaded.

"I didn't see any way around it." Iriana said quietly. "It was too much for me. Too much for any of the medics. Nothing technology or medication could do. The weapon that killed Karl hurt me very badly, both physically and mentally. They managed to repair the physical damage and ease my mind for a time but..." She shrugged. "I knew I was on borrowed time."

"And now?" Sean asked, fear tightening his throat. He liked Iriana.

"Now?" Iriana smiled. "The colony here has given me more time. Time to rest and recover. Time to find ways to cope. I couldn't while submerged in it." She heaved a sigh. "I did my best, it just wasn't good enough. No one is perfect."

"No." Sean relaxed a bit when she did. "No one is. If there is anything I can do..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"There is. Mishka is not taking it well." Iriana smiled at her sleeping daughter. "I am not really surprised. If there is one thing we share, it is a strong empathy." She looked down at herself and frowned. "I feel a lot better but it comes with a cost. The colony took my pain and holding it _will_ hurt them. I am torn here, Sean."

"You don't want to hurt anyone, but you don't want to be hurt either." Sean paused. "Your mate?"

"He... suspects that something is wrong." Iriana was very quiet now. "But he respects my privacy. I haven't had the guts to tell him." Sean nodded slowly."Thank you for being here, Tenno."

"Happy to do it, Healer." Sean smiled and when she returned it, it seemed that the sun came out in the small room.

"Well." Iriana swung her feet off the bed and rose to stand by it. "For now, I feel good and I can do what needs to be done. How are you doing?"

"A little rough." Sean admitted. "Lots of shocks recently. I still cannot believe what happened in the duel. What I remember of it." He slumped a bit. Iriana sighed and stepped to his side. She took his right hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Short term memory loss is common with such injuries even without the toxins. The only person we can control is ourselves, Sean." Iriana shook her head. "Not even Tenno in Nyx warframes can control other people all the time. It is simply not possible."

"I know." Sean's voice was small but when he met her glowing eyes, his were clear. "It just bothers me. I do not know who I was before. But the person I am now is deeply upset by what he did."

"You are not alone in that." Iriana made a face. "I am surprised that Nikis and Inaros didn't kill him. Nikis usually has a _very_ short way with people who act like that. Inaros? Not sure, but he seems much the same."

"Healer?" A new voice had both of them turning. A middle aged woman stood in the doorway, her face worried. Iriana paused, was this woman familiar? "Are you well?"

"Confused and tired, but not in pain currently." Iriana bowed to the newcomer. "Thank you."

"Thank Pip." The woman said with a grin and Iriana recognized her as the voice that Pip had called 'Mom'. "He realized how bad it was and acted. I had to tan his bottom for being rude to you, but we are glad to be of service."

"He seems a good kid." Iriana said softly as Sean moved slightly. He wasn't leaving her, more to guard Mishka than to leave Iriana. "Callisto said something about a meal?"

"We thought you might be hungry." The other said and then paused. "Oh, where are my manners?" She asked herself rhetorically. She curtsied to Iriana. It looked good in the gown. "My name is Ellen."

"That looked nice, but I have never had to try that." Iriana smiled as she tried it and she knew it looked far less refined than Ellen's. "Very different from robes or a bodysuit."

"We try." Ellen smiled. "Do you feel up for a meal? The workers are coming in from the fields and they are always hungry." Iriana looked at Sean and the male Tenno smiled and waved for her to go.

"I will watch out for Mishka, Healer." Sean promised. "Go eat. You need it."

"I do." Iriana said, but her eyes were on Mishka. Ellen noted her look and nodded.

"Pip will be nearby, Tenno Sean." Ellen promised. "Within earshot. Call him by name and he will show up to guide you and Mishka wherever we are." Sean bowed to Ellen who waved the formality away. "No need to be so formal here, Tenno Sean. _Pip_ certainly won't be."

"He is what? Five?" Iriana asked. Ellen smiled in agreement and Iriana shook his head. "If he _was_ , I would _worry_."

"Oh, I worry about him." Ellen stepped out the door but waited for Iriana to follow. "I am his mother. It is part and parcel to what we are."

"Oh yes." Iriana looked back to where Mishka lay and then turned to follow Ellen. "Is he the only child here?"

"The Grineer took all the others." Ellen's face was blank for a moment. Iriana looked at her and Ellen shook her head. "The pain is strong. I can handle it most of the time, but sometimes..." She paused as Iriana reached out to take her hand. "Healer?"

"Who did the clones take from you?" Iriana asked softly.

"Husband and daughter." Ellen's eyes were glistening, but then she shook her head. "The colony helps me as they helped you. My own pain is nowhere near what yours was."

"Grief is rarely easy to set aside." Iriana was sad, but she gave Ellen's hand a squeeze. "There are no set numbers for 'I can handle this' or, 'Oh my god, it hurts!'." She heaved a sigh. "All we can do is go on. The colony helps?"

"Yes." Ellen smiled at Iriana and squeezed the Healer's hand back. "I bet you will detect the communication when you get closer to a group. We can be chatterboxes but talking about things helps. Mostly anyway."

"That it does." Iriana agreed. "And mental communication is far faster." Ellen nodded. "And I connected?"

"Yes." Ellen reached up with her free hand to touch Iriana's head behind her ear. "It is a vital signs monitor and access to your brain." Iriana stiffened and Ellen nodded. "I was told to be totally honest. Yes. If we stray from a safe path, we can be guided back to it. We rarely notice when that happens."

"You are being controlled." Iriana said slowly. Ellen frowned but then nodded. "And you _accept_ that?"

"Healer." Ellen said quietly. "I watched the clones drag my husband and daughter away. I hope and pray that they are still alive but when I am truly honest with myself, I know they are not. The camp was hell, and I had to protect Pip. If they were alive now, I would ask them to come here. This is a safe place. How many places in this solar system can you say that of?"

"You know that you are a slave." Iriana shook her head.

"Define 'slave'." Ellen replied, her eyes curious. "A sentient owned by another?" She shook her head. "No one owns me here. Inaros certainly doesn't." She snorted in sudden humor. "Two of my fellow prisoners feel the need to be controlled. They asked him to take further control of them and his reply was... rather _rude_."

"So who is in charge?" Iriana asked, confused.

"Callisto is in charge of the day to day workings." Ellen started off again, pulling Iriana's hand until the Healer followed. "Cerber is in charge of keeping us safe inside the border. Surgeon is in charge of keeping us healthy. Other than that? No one." Far from enlightened, Iriana was even more confused and Ellen took pity on her. "Let's get some food. Then we can talk. The others... Well, most of them want to meet you."

"'Most'?" Iriana queried.

"We have our problem children, just like anywhere else." Ellen shrugged. "They don't act up because if they do, Cerber puts them on a limited diet for a couple of days. Funny how hunger usually gets a response even when you are not actually starving people."

"What kind of problems?" Iriana asked, her Healer antennae twitching.

"Sam and Mariel suffered a great deal in the camp." Ellen bowed her head. "I do not know what they were before the camp, but the guards hurt them both a great deal. The fear that both feel is very strong even with the colony's help." She glanced at Iriana and shook her head. "Neither will talk to you. We help them function, but that is essentially all we can do."

"I know about fear." Iriana promised. "I won't push."

"Thank you." Ellen smiled but then she frowned. "They are good people, it was a horrible experience. We were dying by inches. The food the Grineer gave us, when they bothered, was hardly enough to satisfy and the _taste_... Ick..." She made a face.

"I have been an unwilling guest of Grineer myself." Iriana replied. Ellen looked at her and the Healer made a face herself. "I know what they do and why."

"We do not matter to them." Ellen said softly. "We are animals. Not worthy of their notice."

"Being called animals _by_ animals is always a bit of a shock." Iriana agreed. "They do not see any but themselves as important, but every so often, they get lessons in humility."

They entered a large room and Iriana paused as chatter surrounded her. Several people looked at her, but no one commented as Ellen led her towards where a pair of trays sat on a table beside a much smaller form who was smiling at them.

"Mom." Pip rose from the table and ran to his mom, hugging her tight. "I got food for you and the Healer." He looked at Iriana shyly.

"Thank you, Pip." Ellen hugged him aback and then released him. He took Iriana's other hand and the pair led her towards the table. Iriana opened her mouth, but Ellen mock glared at her. "Now, now. We can talk about other things after you eat."

"Huh?" Iriana asked intelligently as Pip pulled chair out from the table for her.

"Inaros made us swear to make sure you ate." Pip said with a sly grin as Iriana sat. "Something about a scary man in black saying you didn't often enough?"

"Of all the things I might have expected... That Tenno is a fussbudget." Iriana scowled, but her heart wasn't in it as Ellen and Pip sat on either side of her. The stew in the bowl ahead of her smelled wonderful. She sighed and gave in, reaching for her utensils. "But we will talk."

"Oh yes." Ellen promised as she reached for her own food. Pip was obviously straining not to dig in and Ellen smiled. "Go for it, Pip. Just..." She winced as Pip grabbed a huge severing and splashed some of it on the tray. "Don't waste my cooking!"

"Course not, mom."

Iriana and Ellen _both_ winced as Pip used a piece of bread to sweep the stew up from his tray and popped the dirty bread into his mouth. Pip winked at his mom and his face was pure innocence. Ellen looked at Iriana and held up her hands as if to say 'Why me?'. Iriana just chuckled and focused on her meal.

"At least he doesn't talk with his mouth full." Iriana observed as Pip ate his next bite a bit more sedately. Ellen just looked at the Healer.

"The night is young."

* * *

A hidden colony

"If we give him to Nikis, the old fart will kill him."

Tenno Elders were just that, elder members of Tenno society. Some had been warriors in their youth, others had taken other position. But in the end, each Elder had given up those positions when the need arose for someone to arbitrate disputes. Most of said disputes were fairly straightforward. Some were emotionally charged, or had other complications.

None of the sitting Elders had seen anything like this. The two who were standing facing one another _had_.

"Would that be much of a loss, Mavri?" Elder Hans demanded. He was not nor had he ever been the most diplomatic of people. He held his convictions honestly however and if he was shown facts that showed that he was in error, he wasn't above changing his mind. He _did_ have a loud voice. "It is no less than that little prick deserves."

"Look, _none_ of us are debating that what he did demands punishment." Mavri, for his part, had always tried to be the voice of reason. He rarely acted quickly but when he did, things _happened_. "But the duel was outside the rules. José figured that meant that _anything_ went. That there were no rules at all except kill or be killed. It was an honor duel, but..."

"But he wanted to win and he was being _slowed down_." Hans snapped. Mavri sighed and nodded. "And now, every other Warrior out there who feels that speed is all and everyone else should simply keep up or get left behind is saying 'Well, now I can shoot them when they slow me down. Good!'. Is that what we want?"

"You know better, Hans." Mavri's voice was cool now and more than one of the sitting Elder stirred at his tone. Mavri was laidback, yes. But there were limits to his patience. "Part of me is saying 'Toss him to Nikis' myself. The little twerp spit on everything I hold dear. His idea of honor is 'shoot people'." Mavri shook his head. "I was worried about such. Tenno as a whole are similar in far too many ways to the humans we came from. If we find an exploitable weakness, we exploit it. Yes, what he did was despicable, but it _wasn't_ covered by the rules."

"Because Sean stepped outside the rules to make his point." Hans slumped a bit. "What is worse is what Sun said..." The other Elders all looked at the table. "That Sean wouldn't have taken José's life."

That had been an eye opener. Just the thought of Tenno killing other Tenno was abhorrent to all of the Elders or they wouldn't _be_ Elders. That was the whole point of what was often a fairly nasty job. Arbitrating disputes got messy, especially when it was between family members and children were involved. Sean had demanded a duel outside of Conclave to show the Tenno that what José had done was not just wrong, but against the Code that they all were supposed to live by. Leaving a hurt sister to _die_ for _pride_...

Hans was hardly the poster child for self restraint. Indeed he had made a colossal fool of himself on several occasions. But he had _never_ denied the Tenno Code. None of his peers had either. The outspoken Elder shook his head.

"They are all looking to us for a solution, Mavri." Hans said finally. "And I do not think we have one. Killing the fool is extreme, but... Sean _wouldn't_ have killed him. This is a failure of understanding. Of Tenno who forsake the Code in the name of expediency. Who cannot be trusted to have our brothers' and sisters' welfare at heart in the field." He seemed to wilt. "What can we do?"

"Killing him will not change anything." Mavri said heavily. "Heaven knows, I agree with you, Hans. Rare as that may be." A small laugh went around the room. The two Elders rarely saw eye to eye on _anything_. "But we have others who say he was in the right. That Sean's demand was excessive."

"It _was_." Hans said quietly. "Not that the idiot would _recognize_ any lesser punishment. We _tried_ , Mavri." Now, he was sad. "We did the best we could, it wasn't _enough_. We cannot save them all and we cannot lead them around by the nose. We have to give them the freedom to _do_ dumbass things. Only _then_ can we act. But even then, they have to understand what they did was wrong. He _doesn't_."

"I know." Mavri sighed. "Have we found _anyone_ who will represent him?"

"No." Again, Hans looked sick. "Even the ones who are sticking up for him don't want to go that far. I will if I have to, but I _will_ need several long showers afterward. He makes me _sick_." He shook his head. "The other thing is worse."

"Yes." Mavri turned to look at the other Elders who met his eyes. "José's smear campaign is reaching only a few ears, but those have raised questions about Sean's past and that is reaching farther. Sean got a second chance. No one outside of Intelligence or this room is supposed to know what he did or why. Who he was before." The others all nodded. "And that makes the hotheads question his honor louder."

"It is going to come out, Mavri." Hans said softly. "Too many people digging now for all kinds of reasons. Too much evidence that is accessible. Sean's supporters and detractors all want to know who he was." The Elders bowed their heads again. " _We_ know that they _don't_ , but..."

"We cannot tell them that."


	13. Chapter 13

**Living versus surviving**

Iriana was having fun talking to people. It had been some time since she had just been able to sit and talk. None of these people wanted anything from her. None of them needed anything from her. They just wanted to talk. This was good since one of her jobs here was to find out everything she could about the colony. Parts of what she discovered made her very uneasy, but the sheer joy that most of the people took in their work was easy to hear in their voices. Everyone was curious and everyone was kind. She could hear the steady background hum of mental communication, but no one was pressing her at all.

Well, except for Ellen.

"No, Ellen, I don't think I can eat another bite." Iriana managed when Ellen indicated her tray. It had been refilled twice since Iriana had sat down and she had wolfed the stew down from both. She had been very hungry. Now she wasn't. It felt good.

"Okay." Ellen smiled as she sat back. She nodded to a neighbor and the man smiled as he picked up Iriana's tray and vanished with it before the Healer could form a protest.

"I could have done that." Iriana was somewhere between wonder and hurt.

"Not efficiently." Ellen was calm. "You do not know where to take them or what to do with the residue." Iriana looked at her and Ellen smiled. "We don't waste anything if we can help it. The detritus from food goes into our compost heaps and gets sent to the fields." She made a face. "It is a fairly messy job."

"I can imagine." Iriana paused and then turned thoughtful. She had lived around high tech her whole life. This was very different.

"You are a Healer, so you have seen messy." Ellen shrugged. "But still... Not something we want to show to impress a guest." Iriana snorted and nodded. "How you doing?"

"I am okay." Iriana said after a moment of checking. "I should ask how _you_ are doing? The pain..." She paused as Ellen laid a hand on her arm.

"With it spread out across so many, we can handle it for some time." Ellen reassured the worried Healer.

"Not forever." Iriana said quietly. Ellen shook her head. "I can take some back."

"Not until Surgeon clears you for it." Ellen's tone hardened as Iriana's face became mulish. "Don't even think it, Healer. We will not harm you. Taking back your pain _will_ harm you if you are not ready for it." Whatever Iriana was going to reply was cut off by a scared voice.

"Mom?" Mishka's voice was so tiny, so timid. Iriana turned to see Mishka standing at the door, her face scared. Sean and Pip stood beside her. Sneaky boy, she hadn't even noticed for several minutes that Pip had vanished. But Mishka drew her attention. This wasn't the capable teenage Caretaker. No. This was her daughter. Small, lost and alone. Terrified and trying so hard not to show it.

"Mishka." Iriana rose as Mishka ran to her. The girl threw her arms around her mom. She wasn't crying, but she was trembling hard as if she wanted to. "I am all right, Mishka. It's all right."

"I am scared, Mom." Mishka said into Iriana's chest. "So scared."

"I know." Iriana didn't bother to explain, didn't bother to waste words that might not be true. Instead, she just held her daughter, letting the girl hold her back. "Are you hungry?"

"Mom..." Mishka protested, but did not rest as Iriana turned and pulled her towards the table.

"I am betting you are hungry. I sure was." Iriana said with a grin as Ellen pulled a chair close and nodded to Pip who darted off. "This is Pip's mom Ellen. She is showing me around." She looked at Sean but he shook his head and remained by the entryway.

"I... I have been rude." Mishka stammered a little, but managed to get her words out. Ellen nodded slowly. "I apologize."

"Your mom is sick." Ellen said softly. "Small wonder you are out of sorts. We will help as we can. And before you think we are playing some kind of game... Our lives depend on her." Iriana frowned, but Ellen shrugged. "If your Elders decide Inaros is a threat, what will they do?"

"Eliminate the threat." Mishka responded, her tone far older than her years.

"That will be costly." Ellen heaved a sigh. "And we would caught in the middle no matter how hard he tried to keep it from happening. He does not enslave us, but he does protect us."

"But he _has_ done that in the past. Taken unwilling people into the colony." Mishka said softly. Ellen looked at the ground and nodded. "How can we... Oh." She paused, looking at her mom. "That is why you let mom in."

"Mishka." Iriana's tone was flat and Mishka jerked a little as her mom eased her into a chair. "You knew that. We all told you that."

"I wasn't tracking very well, Mom." Mishka was not apologizing, simply explaining.

"Small wonder." Ellen was sitting quietly as Pip reappeared with a tray that he set in front of Mishka. He smiled shyly at the teenager and then looked at his mom who sighed. "Go on, Pip. Surgeon wanted to see you about that bump on your head from yesterday."

"Mom." Pip protested, waving at Iriana and Mishka, but Ellen was having none of it.

"Pip. Go." Ellen commanded and the boy started off, his face falling. Only after he was out of the room did Ellen relax, her face sad. "We try to shield him. He is a good kid, but so open about some things."

"Is there a problem?" Iriana's instincts said there was even if she couldn't see it.

"We are not sure." Ellen said softly. "According to some of our records, traumatic experiences can instigate changes, especially in the young." Iriana nodded, mystified and Ellen slumped a bit. "He is highly empathic, far more so than even a five year old should be. And he is learning so much, so fast... We fear he may be telepathic."

"Oh dear." Iriana looked after the boy and she knew her face had paled.

Telepathy had never been a common 'gift' even at the height of Orokin. Not many had called it a gift. The Orokin had tried to engineer it into their citizens with no thought as to what would happen if suddenly many of the humans could sense each other's minds. To be exposed to hundreds of minds, all thinking different things. Add to that, the Orokin need for power and prestige and it made for a big mess. Small wonder the few well documented telepaths hadn't lived very long. Most had gone mad before their fifteenth birthday. The oldest one that Iriana had read of had lived to see twenty years before taking her own life. The only reason _that_ had happened was because Orokin scientists had raised her in a _cage_. A gilded cage, but still a cage. Iriana shook her head.

"If he is..." Iriana spoke slowly and carefully. "I may be able to help."

"Truly?" Ellen begged. She wasn't faking her fear for her son. Not a chance.

"We Tenno have had to deal with rogue talents on occasion. It is rarely pretty." Iriana said softly. Mishka and Sean both stared at her and she shook her head. "It isn't something we are proud of. Ellen..." She laid her hand on Ellen's that was still on her arm. "He wouldn't be the same."

"But he would be _alive!_ " Ellen jerked and then she slumped. Iriana took her hand. "Too much. It's too much. I..." All three Tenno could see the change in her when she relaxed and took a deep breath. She smiled a bit forlornly at Iriana. "I... Kind of need more help than most sometimes."

"You have a right to it." Mishka said as she started eating slowly and carefully.

"Still difficult to deal with, especially when Pip is driving me crazy." Ellen retorted. Iriana shook her head slightly and Ellen shrugged. "You have a kid. You know." Mishka looked at her mom and Iriana smiled.

"Mishka was reasonably easy to handle at five years old." Iriana said with a shrug of her own. "But she did make some spectacular messes." Mishka turned back to her meal, her cheeks turning red.

"We all look after Pip." Ellen smiled fondly at the doorway. "But he does do some crazy things. Yesterday, he went 'exploring' a few hours before you arrived." She shuddered and Iriana shared it.

"Not badly hurt, I hope?" Iriana asked.

"A bump on the head." Ellen reassured her. "But Callisto 'talked' to him afterwards while Surgeon checked him out and he was remarkably good for a few hours."

"He is five years old. A little rambunctiousness can be tolerated." Iriana said mildly, giving Ellen's hand a squeeze. "Is he the only kid here?"

"Yeah." Ellen sighed and shook her head. "No one spoils him, but everyone watches out for him. He barely got into the cave he hit his head in before someone was pulling him out. I um... I was not happy. At least he wasn't bleeding when I got to him."

"If you _were_ happy about that kind of thing, I would worry." Iriana said mildly as Mishka finished her meal. Mishka rose, picked up her tray and looked around but paused as Ellen shook her head.

"We do not have a high tech recycler here, Tenno Mishka." Ellen stood up, patting Iriana's hand and the Healer let go.

"Just call me Mishka." The girl replied. Ellen smiled at her and Mishka returned it hesitantly. "Where do I put it then?"

"Come, I will show you." Ellen started off and the others followed. She indicated a recessed alcove in the wall, about a meter off the floor. In it was a dark hole and several smaller ones. Ellen took the tray and started scraping the remnants of Mishka's stew into one of the smaller holes. "We recycle as much as we can." She explained as Sean and Mishka leaned in for a closer look. "Food waste goes to our compost. The dishes and utensils on the tray that will slide in here to be cleaned." She laid the tray in the larger hole and gave the tray a push. It vanished. "We really do _not_ like it when people leave foods in the bowls though."

"You recycle everything?" Mishka asked, wonder in her tone. Ellen nodded. Then the girl's face squnched up. "Uh..." Ellen took pity on her and nodded again.

" _All_ waste, yes." Ellen said quietly. "The other is _not_ a desired job, but it is needed so it rotates. I have done it." She made a face that Iriana shared. Mishka seemed impressed. "We haven't made Pip do it yet, but he keeps asking. Sooner or later he will do something bad and Cerber will make him work in the waste pit for a week as punishment."

"That should cure his curiosity." Sean commented. All three of the women looked at him and he raised hands in a warding gesture. "Hey! It would cure _me_." All of them smiled at the male Tenno's vehemence.

"You don't need food?" Ellen asked. Sean shook his head and she raised an eyebrow.

"They took good care of me after..." He trailed off and looked away. "After."

"After that ignorant little fool disregarded every possible rule in the need to win." Iriana said with a snap. The others looked at her and she scowled. "Honor can be taken too far. Ancestors know I have seen far too much silliness as a result of overblown honor. But _that_ was too much. He didn't _care_ what he screwed as long as he won."

"Mom." Mishka took her mother's hand and held it. "That is not our problem now." But Iriana was looking at Sean whose face was blank.

"Sean." The Healer said quietly. "Will you fight him again?"

"What would be the point?" Sean asked with a shrug. "He will cheat. It doesn't matter if Nikis himself stands over him, he will find a way to cheat to get what he wants. He is the _only_ person that matters to his mind. The Code means _nothing_ to him." Iriana and Mishka both inhaled at that and Sean shook his head. "I don't want him dead, but I also don't want to have to rely on him. We _can't_."

"I..." Iriana slumped a bit and nodded. "I see. You are far more restrained than most warriors I know would be."

"Violence isn't always the answer, Healer." Sean said quietly. "But it is the _only_ answer that some will recognize. He is one of those. No. I won't fight him again. If I see him, he is dead." At that, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Sean. He shrugged. "I won't do it _here_." He promised.

"Thank you." Ellen had paled when Sean made his declaration. She gave herself a shake. "Now, Iriana needs to see Surgeon. We want to be sure nothing is wrong with you." Iriana bristled and Ellen held up a hand. "We do not have all the fancy tech you take for granted, Healer. If something goes wrong, it can get very bad, very fast."

"I see." Iriana blew out a deep breath and smiled at Ellen. "I cannot guarantee to be a good patient..." She paused as Mishka and Sean both scoffed. "You two hush."

"Surgeon says no medical professional ever will be. Something in the training." Ellen smiled and beckoned as she started for the nearest doorway as Iriana shrugged. "What tech we have is mainly geared towards medical care. This is not always an easy place to live."

"Would you leave if you could?" Iriana asked, her tone mild.

"I don't know." Ellen replied, her gaze thoughtful. "Pip needs me. I am useful here. They needed a decent cook. The feel is comforting, but yes, Healer. I know it is artificial. We all do." She shook her head slightly. "But it feels like living as opposed to simply surviving. I did a lot of that both before the camp and there."

"But if it is not _real_..." Mishka trailed off as Ellen looked at her.

"It is real." Ellen replied. "For us, we _do_ care for one another. Was it imposed? In some cases, yes. Healer's assistant took a lot of getting used to. But we are managing." The other three looked at her and Ellen frowned. "We told you the truth. No human has been enslaved here."

"No... _human_?" Iriana queried.

"You need to see it to understand." Ellen said quietly and strode off, leaving the others to hurry to follow.

Ellen led the group to a large stone door marked with an ancient symbol of medicine. A large red cross. The door opened at Ellen's touch and the bay laid out within would not have been out of place in any Tenno hospital. But there were glaring differences. The light came from unseen things on the ceiling and upper parts of the walls. Those walls were stone and time worn. Pip sat in one room, his face blank as tiny machines swarmed all over him.

"Pip?" Ellen asked.

"I am okay, Mom." Pip reassured her. "They are just checking something." Ellen inhaled, but another voice sounded.

"He is all right, Ellen." A man in an odd robe appeared from another room. His head was covered with an odd headdress that looked as if it flowed down his back. "I was worried about his potassium levels, but they have stabilized. He has been eating too many of the roots."

"Pip!" Ellen snapped, her face turning from worried to angry in an instant. "What have we told you about those roots?"

"But they taste good, Mom." Pip pleaded, not moving in his chair. Iriana looked from the boy to his mother and back. Ellen just growled something that Iriana was pretty sure wasn't polite. Pip slumped in the chair.

"Sit up straight, boy Pip." Iriana went still as another form stepped into view. The female form had been hidden behind a wall in the room Pip was sitting in. She was clad in white, but it wasn't clothing. No. She was covered by what looked like linen bandages from head to toe. All except her neck, which was surrounded by an odd looking collar. When she turned to face the group, her face was uncovered and Iriana recoiled. She wasn't human. She was a Grineer!

Sean and Mishka moved to stand in front of the reeling Healer as Ellen moved to the side.

"What? The? Hell?" Iriana managed to grate out as the Grineer stood there, her face expressionless.

"When Inaros rescued the slaves from the camp..." The male healer sounded sick. "This one was in their midst. Inaros' methods are fast and brutal. Everyone was all in shock. All were confused. No one realized until they got here that one of the humans in the camp wasn't one."

"And?" Iriana demanded.

"S4387, what was your function?" Surgeon asked the other. "In the camp." He clarified.

"I was to monitor all subjects for specific criteria." The Grineer said in a tone that was devoid of all emotion. "If criteria were met, subjects would be sent for further study. This unit was also to provide medical care to keep subjects healthy."

"That is... No." Iriana shook her head. "Grineer don't _do_ that."

"According to what we have pulled from what is left of her mind, she was what is called a Reclaimer. " Surgeon shook his head. "She mouthed off to one of her superiors and the punishment was to go live with animals until she died. That is why she was in the camp."

"And?" Iriana was not happy about this. At all. Sean and Mishka were just as unhappy.

"And when she woke up here, she tried to escape." Ellen moved to Pip's side. "Inaros was not gentle."

"My heart bleeds." Mishka said with a snarl.

"You don't understand." Ellen said quietly. She stepped to where the bandaged form stood and pulled some of the wrapping from... the exposed brain matter that was showing underneath it. There was no armor and precious little flesh or bone under the bandages. Tiny machines that looked like insects moved over the flesh, what there was of it. Mishka actually gagged.

"He killed her and brought her back." Surgeon said calmly. "He deplores waste and she is a fully trained medical professional. With some reeducation, she has become an asset to the colony. We will use her skills until her body finally decays beyond repair." It was hard to say what was worse. The flat tone the colony's medic used or the fact that the Grineer didn't react at all. He met Iriana's eyes. "Is there a problem with that?"

"I..." Iriana swallowed and looked at the others who looked just as shaken.

"Knowing the Grineer as I do, I might not have a problem with that, but others _will_."


	14. Chapter 14

**Confrontations**

"You have no right to hold me."

The voice was calm, this time. He had stopped shouting at least. Without his warframe, there was no way for him to get out but he just wouldn't shut up. Elder Hans was hardly the most patient of sorts, but he had simply waited until the Tenno who was the cause of this mess had finally calmed down enough to speak reasonably.

"I did nothing wrong." José had righteous indignation down pat. But again, he had _finally_ stopped shouting, so Hans would try. One last time.

"Nothing wrong?" Hans inquired from where he stood on the far side of the room. The transparent partition between the two was intended for psychiatric patients. It had been needed to keep the three previous Elders from trying to tear the little fool's arms off and beat sense into him with them. "So it is perfectly justified to bring another weapon to a duel that you - _you!_ \- declared was Skana only."

"He was going to _kill_ me." José declared with exaggerated patience. Hans understood exactly why the other Elders had left this one in his lap. This guy rubbed _everyone_ the wrong way. Hans kept his temper although it was hard. He blew out a breath. He was done trying.

"Actually, no he wasn't." Hans said simply. José stared at him and Hans' smile was feral. "You killed someone who _wasn't_ going to kill you." José scoffed and Hans shook his head. "So... You don't see anything wrong with what you did." This wasn't a question. "You lied and cheated and it was okay because it saved your life. Not that your life was in _danger_ , but hey? Who cares? You won. He lost. Who cares about the rules, right?"

"You understand." José seemed relieved. "Good. Let me out of here."

"In a moment." Hans smiled wider but suddenly, the temperature seemed to plummet. José froze. "I need to explain something first. Several things actually. First and foremost, when you are released, you will _leave_ this colony and _never_ return."

"What?" José stared at the Elder who actually snarled at him.

"Shut up." Hans snapped.

"Wha-?" José stared, confused by the sudden change form respectful to utter disregard for his feelings.

"I said 'shut up', you little idiot." Hans retorted. "I can cut off the microphone and let you rant while I talk, but I want to be _sure_ you actually _hear_ what I say. Not that you will _listen_ , but what the hell, I have to try. It is my job." José didn't move, his face slack. "Let me be perfectly clear. You are not welcome in this colony. By _unanimous_ decree, you are hereby banned from entering _any_ of the colonies administrated by the Elders. Feel free to go _anywhere_ else you wish. If you try to dock with our colonies, you will be escorted away. By _force_ if needed."

"You can't do that." José was beyond pale now.

"Oh, yes we _can_." Hans replied, his posture dismissive now. "It has been done, if not for a long, long time. Thing was, it was done for the _same_ reason. A Tenno decided that the rules did not apply to him. Any of them." José was shaking his head but Hans did not give him the chance to speak. "The rules don't apply to you. You will kill anyone who you feel is a threat to you. Anytime. Anywhere. Fine. You will _not_ do it in any of our domains."

"That is not-´ José tried again and again, Hans cut him off.

" _Shut up!_ " The outspoken Elder was holding onto his temper by his fingernails. "You _will_ listen and then you _will_ leave and you will _never_ return." José clamped his mouth shut and Hans nodded. "You spit on honor and on the Tenno Code because you _can_. So be it. Tenno are all that we have. All that we _are_. But you... You are _better_. You are _so_ much better than _any_ of us. Because you _say_ so."

"That is not true." José declared and Hans cut the mic. José was walking back and forth now, obviously shouting again. Hans did not move, did not react and finally José sat, clamping his mouth shut. Hans reached out and clicked the mic on again. When the Elder spoke it was calm and considered, but rage sang underneath.

"Rules don't apply when _you_ say they don't." Hans said quietly. "Well, now. You are free. Of _all_ rules." José's face lit up but Hans cut him off again. "Now, before you start jumping for joy. Yes, you are outside the rules. You are _not_ considered renegade." At that, José simply stood as if it wasn't getting through to him how badly he was screwed. Hans continued. "We could have declared you such. We probably _should_ have since you don't feel that the Tenno Code is important. But that is not a step to take lightly, to set every Tenno against you and _Sean_ argued against it." José's eyes went huge and Hans's smile turned malignant. "So, _this_ is what we will do. You are free to go. You are free to do whatever the hell you want. No rules to hold you back. But... No rules to _protect_ you either."

"No." José seemed to curl up on himself as realization dawned about just how badly he was screwed.

"But it is what you _wanted_." Hans' smile should have been locked up. "You can do _anything_ you want. Of course, anyone _else_ can do anything they want to _you_. Once you step off my colony, if you come back I can shoot you _dead_ and no one will say a _word_ except probably 'Thank you for taking out the trash'. _Any_ other Tenno can do the same if they encounter you in the field. Questions?"

It was unclear if José could manage speech at the moment so Hans continued.

"Additionally, you are barred from trading with any Tenno who adheres to the Code. Any who do so will be reprimanded and/or sanctioned if discovered. We have also determined that since you cannot be trusted to back up _any_ Tenno in the field, _none_ will ever be assigned to work with you." Hans wasn't sure if José heard that, but he was enjoying this _far_ too much after all the crap he had been forced to take from this fool. "This is what you wanted. No one holding you back. Well, no one _will_. Anyone who meets you out in the system will be well within their rights to not talk to you or work with you. Or shoot you on sight. You might very well have no backup ever again. I sincerely hope you enjoy working alone _and_ looking over your shoulder. That is all you will get from now on. You wanted freedom? You got it. Get off my colony and _don't **ever**_ come back." Hans turned to go but paused as José made noise that was somewhere between a sob and a groan.

"I will appeal to the Lotus." José managed.

"Feel free." Hans didn't even turn. " _She_ is the one who pushed the last part. She cares for us all but there _are_ limits. We have free will. She doesn't want you dead, but you are a risk to _any_ teammates who might work with you. The needs of the many in this case _highly_ outweigh the needs of the _one_. _Especially_ when the one is an ignorant arrogant _fool_ who couldn't care less about the rest of us. So now? No one will work with you. Go on." The door on the other side of the partition clicked unlocked. "Get lost. I have no idea what will happen when certain people -like _Sean_ \- find you out there. Frankly? I don't _care_. You are no longer my problem."

"You can't do this to me!" José was halfway to screaming. "I HAVE RIGHTS!" Now he _was_ screaming.

" _Your_ rights end at _my_ nose." Hans left the room and didn't flinch as a black form entered the other door. A short, sharp scream sounded and then Nikis stalked out, dragging the fool by one ankle. José was actually _blubbering._ Nikis ignored him as the Nekros dragged him away. Mavri was standing with several other Elders and Hans moved to join them as Nikis hauled the struggling José towards a door that led to the landing bays. Only after it closed behind Nikis and José did Hans speak again. "Killing him might have been kinder."

"He used up any goodwill any of us might have had." Mavri said quietly. The others nodded. "Now the hard part."

"I do _not_ like this, Mavri." Hans started off and the others followed. "The person Sean _was_ paid for what he did. The new brother had a right to a new life. This is _wrong_."

"We cannot stop a reasoned request for information." Mavri said heavily. "Or we are no better than any number of regimes in history who declared certain information unacceptable. Censorship for its own sake is wrong."

"Yeah." Hans slumped a bit and one of his colleagues put a hand on his arm. He smiled at the female Elder and she smiled back. Neither was happy. But then, something else percolated. Something was happening ahead of them. "What the-?"

"Oh shit." Mavri was hardly the only Elder to speak that when they saw the crowd in front of the records facility. And the white Loki Prime who stood between them and the doorway, his Bo Prime staff drawn and ready. "Sun."

"Ah..." Hans stared from one Elder to the others and they all looked at him. All of them looked as if they might have to change their pants. Hans slumped. "My colony." He said softly. "I will handle it."

"Not alone." Mavri promised, moving to stand beside Hans who smiled in thanks. The other Elders moved to flank them and Hans smiled at them, but it faltered as he took a step towards the mess.

"What is happening here?" Hans put enough command in his voice that several in the crowd stepped back from the confrontation with Sun.

"Um... Elder." One of the ones in the group looked grateful. "He is blocking the door."

"I can see that." Hans said with a sigh. "The question is 'Why is he blocking the door?'. What did you do?" The mournfulness in his tone had several people in the crowd shuffling.

"They demand access to the secure partitions." Sun spoke and it was as if a dark cloud had swept over the lights for a moment. "They will not get that."

"The secur- Oh no. Don't be fools." Hans said quietly. "I have had my fill of fools today and I know you lot _have_ to be smarter than the one Nikis just dragged to his ship to throw off the colony. The secure partitions are secure for a _reason_. You do _not_ want to _know_ what lies within. Hell, _I_ don't. What little I know gives me _nightmares_."

More than one in the crowd was bothered by Hans complete sincerity but several others were pushing forward towards Hans while trying to avoid Sun's line of sight. Hans bet Sun marked each and every one though and their actions in the future would be watched closely. Before any of them could speak, Hans raised a hand.

"You ask for information, that will be allowed. But the contents of the secure partitions are not for public consumption. This is not censorship." He pleaded. "It is for your _protection_! You do not _want_ to _know_ what lies within those walls. You do _not!_ " He slumped a bit. "I wish I didn't."

"Be careful what you wish for, Elder." Sun's comment might have been meant offhand. It might not. More than one of the crowd shifted as if to protect the Elder from the grandmaster of Tenno interrogators. Others shifted away. No one met Sun's gaze but the Elders.

"Sun." Hans moved to stand in front of the Loki Prime. "Is there a way to fix this?"

"They demand to know who Tenno Sean was." Sun might have been carved from ice. "I cannot give out such information. It was entrusted to me in confidence and I will not break that confidence. If I do, then I become no better than the one who was just escorted from your colony." His inflection did not change, but somehow, his tone conveyed intense disgust. Two of the crowd bristled at that but froze as Sun looked at them. The ancient saying was 'deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck'. "Some of us do understand honor, Elder Hans."

"You cannot give it to them." Hans said softly. Sun shook his head. "Can another?"

"The secure partitions will not be breached." Sun _ignored the question_. "Anyone who tries will be caught in the self destructs that are now active." Hans felt the blood leave his face and Sun shook his head. "The destructs are self contained. Only this building will go. Nothing else. Anyone _in_ the building will die."

"And the records?" Mavri asked from where he had strode to Hans' side. "Many of those are priceless."

"We have backed them up elsewhere and moved the hard copies." Sun replied evenly. "So no, Tenno Gorlin." One of the ones who had been trying to get in the hardest froze in place as if hit by a Glaxion. "Tenno records will _remain_ in Tenno hands and your employer won't get a thing."

"Employer?" Hans asked softly as a sudden space appeared around the indicated Tenno who froze again in the act of trying to move. "Do I want to know?"

"He doesn't know who is paying him." Sun replied. "I do."

"You have proof?" Hans asked and then shook his head. "Never mind. Of course you do or you wouldn't have said a thing. _Security!_ " He bellowed.

The response was instant. His people were well trained. In seconds, Tenno Gorlin was restrained and being led away by an armored security guard. The crowd looked around, noting for the first time the several armored security guards that surrounded them, all armed with non-lethal weapons. Hans shook his head as Sun did not move.

"Grandmaster..." Hans pleaded. "If they simply ask and are not security risks, I have no right to bar them from information. Sensitive or not."

"I _do_. There is only one who can authorize such a release and he is not here." Sun's reply chilled the area. "What good can come of them knowing who Sean was before?" He asked. "Sean is not the person he was. I did the mindwipe myself." More than one in the crowd winced at that.

"I..." Hans bowed his head. Then he raised it and his gaze swept the crowd. "Do _all_ of you wish to know who he was? Do you all wish to _destroy_ a brother simply because you _can_?"

"Elder..." A female Tenno stepped forward. Hans nodded to her. Frela was not a fool or quick to judge. "How many times in recent memory has a Tenno demanded a duel outside of Conclave?"

"It has only happened _twice_ in our entire recorded history, Frela." Hans said heavily. "Both times for massive breaches in the Code. Karen wasn't going to put herself forward. She wouldn't have sought José's permanent death. She has said that she won't ever work with him again and if _he_ goes down she won't help him." An indrawn breath circled the area. "Is this about Sean or about the duel?"

"Much as most of us decry it, the duel _was_ justified." Frela said with a wince. "I would have shot that moron myself even _before_ he started acting like a whining spoiled little human brat." Hans had to smile at her grimace. José had not made many friends in this colony. More than one in the crowd were smiling as well. Said smiles faded when she continued. "But... Elder... How can we trust one who demands a death duel? How can we know he won't do it again?"

"He wasn't going to kill José." Hans said sadly. Everything seemed to stop in the area. No noise at all. "When interrogated by Grandmaster Sun and others, he said he would fight. If José struck him down, so be it. If he had José down, he would drop his sword and let José kill him." Frela had a hand over her mouth as Hans bowed his head. "Honor would have been satisfied. And no one would _care_. José would go on doing what he did, but maybe someone, _somewhere_ would look at him and say 'Why?'. You tell _me_ , Frela. Is that the act of a monster?"

"No." Frela was trembling as she shook her head.

"We are supposed to be bigger than prejudice, my kin." Hans said quietly. Everyone could hear him. "Yes, he erred before. Yes, badly. He was punished and has served since as an exemplary Tenno. We have watched him. Intelligence has watched him. He hasn't stepped a _millimeter_ out of line. Until this." Hans slumped. "José violated _everything_ that Tenno are supposed to be. He lied. He cheated. He would have killed if not for remarkable measures. I would have done the same as Sean if I had been there. If I had seen a fallen sister left behind to die for _pride_. Does that make _me_ a monster?"

"You were not mindwiped..." Someone started and cut off as Hans speared a finger at the crowd.

"That doesn't _matter!_ " Hans snapped, angry now. "Elders have been punished before. Grina was and is still being punished for losing her way. For forgetting her duty in the need for atonement." A hush swept the crowd at that. It wasn't every day an Elder was convicted of such things and the repercussions would be slow to fade. "WE ARE NOT PERFECT!" He shouted.

"Hans." Mavri laid a hand on Hans' arm and the furious Elder recoiled, trembling. He turned to Mavri,. But the other Elder was looking to the side . All eyes followed until they saw a Mag warframe standing nearby. From her posture, she was sad, so sad.

"Karen?" Hans' anger fled in an instant.

"He didn't want this." Karen was crying. "He _never_ wanted conflict between kin! He wanted even _José_ to understand that _we_ are all we have. We are _Tenno_ , heirs to an ancient tradition. But we are _not_ perfect, _none_ of us." She strode to where Sun was standing and bowed to him. "Grandmaster, he gave me... the code."

"Karen." Sun sounded resigned. "Are you sure?"

"He told me that if it came to it, to do it. He said... 'The needs of the many', Grandmaster." Karen bowed to him and a flash of energy flew from her hand to Sun's. "He is only _one!_ _But he is my brother!_ " She was crying hard now and the Elders closed ranks around her, offering what support they could.

"Code received and acknowledged." Sun bowed his head. "As he wishes." When his head rose, everyone in the crowd stepped back from the ice cold fury that wafted off his warframe.

"Sean's previous name was Luc."


	15. Chapter 15

**Dealing with History**

"Luc..."

For a moment it didn't click. Then it did and Karen was suddenly shaking in reaction. Hans and Mavri both laid hands on her arms. Small wonder they were worried. They knew.

" _Nicholas_ ' Luc?" Karen pleaded for the Interrogator to say 'no'. To say anything else. Sun nodded. "No." The female Tenno said slowly. "No, that can't _be_. Luc died when the Forgotten took Iriana's hospital."

Luc had worn a Volt warframe. He had been the youngest of the members of Nicholas' clan when they had rebelled against the authority of the Elders and the Lotus. He had been the most devastating killer when they had gone after nuclear weapons from a bunker on Mars and he had personally killed almost every Marine sent to stop them. High voltage electricity versus tanks -especially tanks made from metal with limited tech to counter Sentient attacks- made for _very_ short battles. He had been captured by Karl when Karen's former clan leader had gone after the renegades when they had attacked Iriana's Tower. Back before it was a hospital. He had been sentenced to serve the tower for eternity or until he repented. He never had and the evil that had overtaken the hospital had destroyed his mind, killing him. Or so everyone had _thought_.

Every Tenno remembered Nicholas. Most know what Nicolas had done to Karen. _All_ who did know about that knew shame.

"Yes, he did." Sun was still as a statue. "His mind was erased by their evil. What _I_ did simply cleaned the slate again. Gave us a new brother untainted."

"No." Karen was shaking her head slowly. "That can't be true. Interrogator, please. Nicholas and his band... I..."

"Karen." Hans pulled the now quivering Mag warframe into an embrace. "Whoever he was _before_ is not who he is _now_. You know about mindwipes. The one who hurt you is _gone_."

"Luc never did." Karen's voice was tiny as the crowd shifted, from fear or tension it was hard to say. "He was the youngest of them. He tried to be kind. He never touched me the way the others did." She shook her head savagely. "Elder... I... I need to... I..." She called on all of her training to fight the sudden surge of emotion that tore through her.

"It is all right, Karen." Hans pulled the Mag warframe to the side, guiding her towards a doorway. "Let's get you back to your dojo. You have had some bad shocks."

"Wait." Karen pleaded as Mavri took her other arm. "Grandmaster Sun... You say he is not the same?"

"He is not." Sun said formally. "I will swear any oaths you demand, Karen. He is not who he was. Two complete wipes and a new identity." His gaze swept the crowd and no one would meet it. "Luc of Nicholas' clan paid for his crimes with his life. Sean is not that Tenno."

"Then no. He is not." Karen took a deep breath and straightened. She nodded to Hans and Mavri. "Thank you, Elders. But we need to settle this now." She took a step towards the crowd, the Elders following. "Word has already gone out, I assume."

"Some wanted it told. We didn't know." Frela was in tears. "How could we have known?"

"You couldn't." Karen took the crying noncombatant Tenno's hands in her own. " _I_ didn't. I... Is it worth it? The destruction of a noble and honorable brother for a _nincompoop_ who thinks _speed_ is the only true god?" She asked Frela who shook her head. "Him being in a hurry was more important than my _life_. _Is_ more important than anyone _else's_ life!" Frela threw her arms around Karen and held her tight as Karen fought to keep from crying herself. No one cared that she was in her warframe. Everyone could feel her distress as her mental energy roiled.

"Karen..." Hans said softly.

"No, Elder, this needs to be said." Karen was forcing herself to be calm. "It _was_ a shock, but _Sean_ is my brother. Whoever or _what_ ever he was before is immaterial to me. He stood with me. He rescued me when I fell. He is a good Tenno and has dedicated himself to the Code to the exclusion of all else." She bowed her head and then raised it. More than one of the crowd recoiled from the sheer intensity of her gaze. "He is my brother and I _will_ stand with him."

Everyone felt her strength now. Everyone bowed their heads in acknowledgement.

"Good girl." Nikis' voice came from the side and more than one of the crowd shied away as the pitch black Nekros strode into view to stand beside Sun. "Well?" The ancient Guardian of the Dead demanded of the crowd. "What are you?"

 _We are Tenno. We honor the Code._ The mental response from everyone was quiet, but heartfelt. The crowd broke up, each hurrying away, probably praying that Nikis and Sun didn't look too closely at them. Frela held onto Karen, still crying. The Elders maintained their circle around Karen. Nikis nodded to Sun.

"Might as well stand down the destructs and let people in. None will be dumb enough to try for the secure sections now." Nikis' words were not -quite- a command. Sun nodded and holstered his staff. "This is a mess and no mistake."

"My Warlord knew that Sean was mindwiped." Karen said calmly as she held Frela. "None of us knew who he had been. I assume his DNA record was changed." Sun did not reply and she scoffed. "Silly me. You won't tell me that." She gave Frela a hug. "It's all right, sister. My clan will take care of him. Take him in if he wishes."

"He prefers to be solo." Sun offered. All eyes landed on him and the interrogator shrugged. "He prefers not to have anyone relying on him." Karen stared at him and then shook her head.

"And you won't say why." Karen's tone was tired. Sun just shrugged. "Figured."

"Intelligence tries not to repeat mistakes." Nikis said with a shrug. "And they like acknowledging them as much as I do. Luc wasn't a bad kid. I trained him." Everyone who was left in the area in front of the records depository stared at the Nekros and Nikis shrugged again. "I ain't perfect any more than anyone else is. No one saw Nicholas' treachery coming. They are all gone. All of the renegades but Lis and Luc were killed. Lis repented and Luc was mindwiped. That particular nasty bit of history is _done_."

No one seemed to know what to say to the Nekros' declaration. Karen gave Frela one final squeeze and released her.

"Thank you, Sister." Karen said formally. "Now, as Grandmater Nikis says, we have to clean up this mess. Is the moron gone?" She asked Nikis who chuckled.

"Couldn't get into his ship _fast_ enough when I dropped his ass there." Nikis shook his head. "Should have let me _shoot_ him. He ain't gonna learn."

"Part of me wants him dead too." Karen admitted as the Elders moved away from her when it was clear she could stand on her own. "He spits on everything I believe is important."

"Honor _cannot_ be the be all and end all, girl." Nikis groused. "Bunch of fools, hanging around numbnuts too long." His tone turned sad for a moment. "Karl understood that there _were_ limits. He probably would have gutted that fool and left him for the Grineer. Karl learned early that you can lead a fool to knowledge, but you _cannot_ make him _think_." Sun stared at him and Nikis growled. "Don't."

"I just never thought to hear the day _you_ quoted _Winston Churchill_." Sun's tone held a bare hint of humor. For the interrogator, it was as if he was howling in laughter. Nikis made a rude gesture at Sun and everyone pretended not to notice. Safer that way.

"José is going to go after Sean, isn't he?" Karen said suddenly. Nikis and Sun both looked at her, the Elders likewise. "I mean, he blames Sean for everything that has happened. It isn't _his_ fault he is a liar, cheat and fool. It is everyone _else's_." The bitterness in her tone could have cut steel.

"Don't you worry 'bout that, girl." Nikis said with a snort. "We got it covered."

"Begging your pardon, Grandmaster..." Karen was respectful, but her tone was firm. "Perhaps your friend and whatever defenses you have set up will be enough. But I owe him."

"A life for a life rarely works out well." Nikis warned. Karen nodded, but her posture didn't change and Nikis sighed. "Stubborn Tenno. See what you did?" He complained to the Elders who moved away, none daring to reply. Mavri smiled at Nikis though as he left. Nikis shook his head and then sighed.

"All right, girl. All right. We are going to Phobos."

* * *

Phobos

"This is wrong."

Iriana kept her voice low even as she lay back on the bed as hundreds of tiny sand colored scarab shaped robots scurried over her. At least she still had on her garment that mimicked clothing. Surgeon was fascinated with it, especially when it changed from a blue gown to a patient robe all by itself. Ellen had simply smiled and commented on the utility.

"Mom?" Mishka hadn't left her side but it was easy to see the girl was creeped out by what was to all appearances _sand_ moving over her mother's body. She knew what they were and there was nothing she could do to help or hinder. She was feeling helpless and it bothered her a great deal.

"Not this." Iriana waved a slow hand at the mass of tiny moving things covering her.

The tiny bots were not hurting her. They were sampling her skin and scanning her cells deeply to see how much damage had been done by the pain she had been carrying for some time. It wasn't commonly known that pain itself could cause damage. But the cumulative effects both of the pain and the depression from it had taxed Iriana almost to her breaking point. No one had been able to do anything but watch as she fell apart. It had not been fun for anyone.

"The Grineer?" Sean asked from where he stood by the wall.

"Yeah." Iriana sighed. "I have seen bad _and_ good from Grineer. Mostly bad." She said when Mishka stared at her. "But Nira and Cora were both good ones. Nira was one that Brianna 'adjusted' when she was still working for the nutcases she was when Will captured her way back when and Cora was one of Tyl Regor's failed experiments before she took the Trial and changed her entire being." She looked to where the bandaged form was working on a scanner. "But that one wasn't given a choice."

"She wouldn't have taken it." Mishka said flatly. "You know what Reclaimers _are_. What they _do. Especially_ after what happened to Jesse."

"I do." Iriana shook her head slightly, grimacing as some of the robots fell from her head but they scuttled back into the mass. "This odd method of scanning is rather distressing, but the other is _worse_. The Elders in particular are going to _flip_."

"Why?" Sean asked. Iriana glanced at him sidelong, not willing to turn her head. "If it was a human or Tenno in such a situation, everyone would rightly be upset. Everyone would be clamoring to end the breach of the Code. It _isn't_. Where do _Grineer_ fall in the Code?"

"That is my problem exactly." Iriana said with a grunt. "I know what Grineer are. Almost all of them are enemies. I know what they do. I have cleaned up after them far too often to have any illusions about that. I am... I find it hard to _care_ that she was unwilling. And _that_ bothers me more than I can say."

"That is because you are a good person, Mom." Mishka looked as if she wanted to take Iriana's hand, but dared not disturb the scarabs. "For myself? I find it poetic that a clone has to tend what she could consider animals."

"And she cannot be happy doing it." Iriana said softly. "So...torture on top of slavery."

"Healer?" Ellen's voice came from nearby. She had gone to talk to Surgeon about Pip. Now she was apparently coming back. "May I come in?"

"It's your colony." Iriana managed humor somehow. She paused as Ellen poked her head through the door and her face was severe.

"It is _your_ private room." Ellen managed to keep a straight face until Iriana cracked a smile and then she beamed. "Seriously, Healer. May I come in?"

"Sure." Iriana wanted to wave, but stopped herself before she dislodged any of the scarabs. "This is somewhat distressing."

"Normally, people sleep though the scans." Ellen took a chair near one wall, opposite Mishka. "But you don't know if you can trust us. My reaction to your daughter's hostility didn't help."

"I..." Mishka started, only to break off as Ellen waved at her.

"You were worried that you were going to lose your mother." Ellen said kindly. "No one blames you for that. Raised voices we can handle. But you were going to strike me." Mishka looked at the floor and Ellen sighed. "No harm done. Everyone is breathing and all fluids are where they belong, yes?" Her grin was wicked and Mishka found herself grinning even as Iriana tried to stifle hers. "We are good."

"Mostly." Iriana shuddered a little in her bed. "This is really, really weird and from me? That is saying something." Ellen smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. "Ellen?"

"Surgeon says that you cannot take it back without causing a great deal of harm, Healer." Ellen said quietly. "Not for several days at the very least." Iriana stiffened in instant rebellion and Ellen held up a hand. "I am just the messenger. But I like you. I don't want to see you hurt."

"You can't hold that kind of power." Iriana said flatly. "It is not possible. Not for... how long? A week?"

"At least three days, Healer." Ellen said quietly as the scarabs surrounding Iriana flowed off of her. "Possibly five. Now, Callisto and Surgeon have been butting heads. _He_ wants to find a way to keep it from you indefinitely, but that would harm us long term." Iriana grimaced and Ellen shared it. "Callisto says it is not an option. Her focus as always is our well being and frankly? You are not of us. We like you, but... You are not. Not that _you_ would allow it anyway." Mishka nodded firmly as Iriana made another face. "So, Surgeon says that with rest, proper nutrition and exercise, we will give some back in two days. We see how you handle it, then we can either ease more to you or let you rest and acclimatize."

"That seems a good plan." Iriana said after a moment's thought. "I don't like the pain, but I don't like the thought of inflicting it on others either." She looked at Ellen, a question in her eyes as the scarabs vanished into the bed somewhere. Ellen nodded and Iriana sat up. "That was _really_ weird."

"That was why people normally sleep through that, Healer." Ellen replied deadpan. Iriana had to chuckle at the woman's delivery, which was probably the plan.

"Yeah, I-" Iriana broke off as Sean, who had been watching everything with a slightly bemused expression, suddenly recoiled. "Sean?" The male Tenno had paled. Iriana was on her feet with Mishka as he seemed to wilt. "Sean, what is wrong?"

 _I..._ The male Tenno was shaking as Iriana took his hand. _The Lotus... I..._

 _Lotus?_ Iriana asked carefully. The response was instant and Ellen stiffened as well as Mishka.

 _They can hear me while you are connected to them, Healer._ The Lotus sounded sad. So very sad. _Some time off will do you good. Can you tend her, human Ellen? You and your colony?_

"I can." Ellen paused. "Can she hear me?"

 _I can._ The Lotus reassured the human. _The connections are different, faint, but there. Iriana, Sean needs you. I will let him explain, but Sean, you are_ **not** _alone. Karen stands with and for you. Her clan likewise. They don't care who you_ **were** _. Only who you are_ **now** _._

"I..." Sean swallowed as Mishka took both of his hands. "I knew whatever I did was bad. But _that?_ " He sank to the floor, pulling Mishka down as he half fell into seiza. "Lotus... I..."

 _You are not who you_ **were** _, Tenno._ The Lotus' tone turned hard. _And anyone who thinks you_ **are** _can talk to_ **me** _about it._ A feeling of something comforting wafted over all of them and then the Lotus' voice was gone.

"She doesn't sound happy." Ellen commented as Iriana knelt down beside Sean.

"No, she doesn't." Iriana said softly. "Sean?"

"I didn't think they would do it." Sean wasn't seeing her. He was staring at something only he could see. "I told Karen if it got bad, if conflict between kin was the result of the confusion in my past, to tell Sun to explain." Iriana hissed and Sean bowed his head. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't know."

"Of _course_ you didn't know." Iriana was on the verge of losing patience. "Your memory was wiped. Sean, what is the problem?"

"My name was Luc." Sean said softly. Iriana stared at him and then her face lit up. To his utter bafflement, she _embraced_ him. "Healer? Wha-?"

"Luc was my responsibility." Iriana was crying softly as Mishka and Ellen both stared at her. But she wasn't sad. She was _smiling!_ "I thought I failed him along with everyone else there. That lying piece of crap Sun told me Luc died..." She paused as she parsed her memory. "Oh... Drat. No, he didn't. He said 'Ceased to exist'. But still. He _implied_ it fairly strongly."

"Ah... what is the problem then?" Ellen asked. Sean didn't seem capable of speech and Iriana was busy hugging him so Mishka spoke.

"Luc was a renegade who killed a lot of humans at his renegade clan leader's orders. That clan broke with the Tenno Code. It took along time and many lives for them to be stopped." Mishka's voice was worried. Ellen stared at her and paled. "Yeah."

"But Sean isn't Luc." Ellen relaxed a little but tensed again as Mishka frowned. "Is he?"

" _ **No**_." Iriana rose to her feet and pulled Sean to his. She seemed to swell and both Ellen and Mishka recoiled a little as a massive 'unhappy Healer' vibe flowed from Iriana. "But some people are going to _have_ to find ways to be _stupid_ about this."

"They always _do_."


	16. Chapter 16

**There are some you do NOT anger**

 _Eyes on._

The soft voice came from nowhere. No one was sure where Aeron had secreted himself. The sniper could literally be anywhere, his Loki warframe allowed for mobility that even many Tenno envied. He was probably atop one of the peaks that provided a good view of the surrounding area, but no one could be sure. Certainly not the Grineer patrols that were still fruitlessly trying to enter the area and failing miserably. They vanished without a trace and mostly without any signals at all returning to their High Command. The Queens were not happy about that and were working on sending a much larger force, but even a battalion or three might have difficulty with the sheer level of destructive power that had ensconced itself in the area. It wasn't ever day that an entire _clan_ of Tenno took an area and _held_ it. Infested that entered the area were either turned aside, slaughtered or in a few cases turned by one of the clan's allies to add to their biomass. The Caretakers loved Iriana too but their duty took precedence. Barely. No Corpus or Sentient activity had been detected but no one was going to lower their guard.

Not here. Not now.

 _What is he doing?_ The metal voice of the Warlord was resigned.

 _I would say José is a little upset._ Aeron's tone was dry. _He is actually kicking rocks out of his way._

 _Aeron._ Tiana's voice held little amusement.

 _Target has exited his Liset and is approaching route three seven. That leads to the colony entrance._ The sniper's tone had turned professional again. _Standard Excalibur. Armaments..._ He paused and then continued. _Boltor Prime, AkBolto and Boltace._

 _Geez, didn't the fool learn last time?_ Another voice sounded with a mental sigh. Ric. _He shows up armed like that and Inaros will tear him apart like Arthur against the Black Knight._

No one replied but everyone had seen Inaros in action by now and had a _very_ healthy regard for the ancient Guardian's power. It was impressive to say the least. They were not afraid of him, not really. If he had been hostile, maybe. But he _wasn't_. He was good company on the few occasions they had interacted with him. Normally, they left him the inner perimeter and focused on the outer. A couple of the Grineer patrols had been caught between the two perimeters and the battle had been _very_ short in each of those cases.

 _Warlord, he is definitely heading towards the colony._ Aeron spoke again. _Do I have permission to fire?_ Tiana did not reply and Aeron tried again. _I have a shot. I will lose it in a couple of minutes and no guarantee of getting it back in those canyons._

 _What would Karen want?_ Tiana asked softly and Aeron actually growled at her. _Aeron. Yes, the Elders determined he wasn't covered by the rules of engagement since he feels the Code is for idiots. But you know how Karen feels. Weapons tight._

 _Roger, weapons tight._ Aeron wasn't happy about that, but he wasn't the raving ball of fury that he had been when he first met the clan. _I will maintain eyes on as I can. Orders?_

 _Keep an eye out for Grineer and others._ Tiana replied. _I am taking team three to intercept short of the colony._

 _Get him under clear sky and I will have eyes on._ Aeron promised.

 _I know you want him, Aeron, but we need your eyes up there. I wish we had another Loki to spot for you._ Tiana sounded tired and small wonder. The clan had been at this for over a day. Most Tenno missions were over in minutes or at most an hour. Most of the clan, minus Tiana and Aeron, had rotated out for rest. She would have to figure out how to get him to leave before she could. Burdens of leadership.

 _I am okay._ Aeron sounded calmer which was good. _View is fantastic._

 _Get pictures._ Cathi Gata said with a laugh that others shared as Tiana's designated team formed up.

Tiana had to smile at that. The Valkyr was about as far from a mindless raving berserker as one could imagine. There was no reply, but everyone knew Aeron would. Everyone liked Cathi Gata and she was... It was hard to describe. While Tiana _led_ the clan, Cathi Gata was pretty much it's heart and soul now that Karl was mostly gone. Some called her a matriarch and there was a certain truth to that. No one sane wanted her angry with them. She didn't get loud. She didn't get mean. She got _motherly_. That could be downright _terrifying_.

"Orders?" Olim asked from where he stood.

Today, he didn't have Mori guarding him. She had been called away for something. Instead, another Royal Guard named Ibn was standing behind and slightly to the side. Not that anyone outside of the clan would ever know that the Royal Guard still existed. The Vauban's focus was on his protectee and Olim tolerated it. He had learned not to fight Mori and her replacements were always cut from the same cloth. It was odd seeing a Frost Prime carrying a Glaxion freeze ray, but he was a wizard with it just as he was with computer code. The Dex Furis and Sibear hammer were rarely needed.

"We stop him and turn him away." Tiana replied as she checked her weapons.

She felt odd in the Nyx Prime still. She had been used to a Mirage that she had taken up immediately after her completing the Trail to become Tenno. But many people had pressed her to change when she had been shoehorned into this job. She didn't like it, but like all Tenno, she knew her duty. Well, like _most_ Tenno. Her Gorgon Wraith, Nukor and Atterax were all based on Grineer weapons that she had been decanted from her original clone tank with the skills for. But now, she was far, _far_ more capable with all of them than any Grineer could ever hope to be. The weapon sounds confused some clones as well and she took every advantage.

"And if he won't?" Ric asked from where he was inspecting his Dakra Prime. The Vauban had good days and bad, but his whole life had been defined by honor. For another Tenno to spit on it made him as angry as Aeron.

"Then we try not to kill him." Cathi Gata's Gersemi Valkyr loped into view. "Right, Warlord?" As always, her weapon was in hand. Today, it mimicked a Glaive Prime, but it often took other forms. She carried other weapons, but rarely used them. She didn't usually _need_ them.

"I am _sick_ of him and his crap." Tiana said with a sigh. "But yes. We try not to kill him. If he draws on us, take him down. Do not bother trying to disable. Go for the kill." The others all looked at her and she shook her head. "I don't want to lose any of you. He is not worth your pain, let alone your _lives_. He has shown he will kill you if he gets the chance. We give him _one_ warning and then we let him have it."

None of them were happy with that declaration, but no one argued. Tiana started off, only to pause as Aeron's voice came again.

 _Warlord!_ His tone was urgent. _Did anyone scout that cave at three Alpha mark seven?_

 _No._ Tiana felt a sudden frission inside her. An explosion during a battle with Grineer earlier had opened a wall of rock and shown an entrance to underground caverns. A potential path past the perimeter. _I was going to take a team later today. Let me guess..._ She groaned.

 _He jumped in._ Aeron said with a growl of frustration. _Two Grineer patrols approaching. Twenty clones each. Taking routes one and six. They have to be probes for attacks in force._

 _Warn Inaros!_ Tiana commanded the closest of her guards. With so many Grineer and certainly more coming, she had enough Tenno for now. But only for the moment until more of her clan returned. _My team will intercept the one on route six. Team Two, take route one._ Will and Alicia would make short work of twenty Grineer. _I am falling back to the cave, team take route six._ Cathi Gata, Ric, Olim and Ibn all nodded. They trotted off to bring death and destruction to their enemies.

 _I will help handle the cave._ Tiana gulped a little as another voice came. It wasn't a member of her clan, but it _was_ someone she respected greatly. Caretaker Elenia _wasn't_ happy. That left them with no reserve, but...

 _On my way as well._ Tiana promised. _Aeron, you are weapons free on the Grineer. I may be out of touch. Clan? Report as you can and hold them away from the colony. Hit and run if needed. No needless heroics._ A soft 'crack' sounded from far away and she knew a Grineer had just ended its pitiful life. _Caretaker, there are reports of Kavats in the area. Be wary._

 _I will._ Elenia's tone mollified. _I don't want Jasmina to scold me any more than_ **you** _do._

Tiana was smiling as she raced to battle. Now if only it was a decent enemy and not stupid kin.

* * *

Elenia kept her Phage ready as she entered the cave. Going in alone was stupid or brave. Jasmina was cursing her for being stupid, but her mate kept the tone down. They both knew Tiana was coming fast and Elenia wouldn't be alone for long. She didn't need to check her Scoliac or her Tysis. All of her weapons hummed in her mind, purring to her their readiness to serve her needs.

Elenia had never been a warrior by choice. She had taken the path and trained hard, but her life after training had taken other turns. She was good and her Mag warframe was well fitted out. The alliance with Karl's Shadow was fortuitous in many ways. They gained access to many weapon designs that other clans had to experiment with and develop on their own, such as the Phage she carried. The Caretakers got access to intelligence and supplies when they ran short, as well as a full arsenal of mods from the clan's armory.

She didn't have a sentinel or another companion with her. She would have preferred to have a Charger or an Ancient with her, but most Tenno would not approve. Then again, an alliance with Infested was beyond the comprehension of most Tenno. Nothing against them. Often Elenia wondered how sane _she_ truly was. Then again, she had a wonderful mate who was full of surprises and...

 _Stop that. Focus on the mission._ The tart voice of Jasmina snapped Elenia out of her near trance.

 _Right._ Elenia felt her cheeks heat at the not so subtle reminder. She wasn't a warrior normally. She much preferred her usual role of mediator and caregiver. But Jasmina had been exhausted and Mishka was with her mom. Speaking of... _Mishka?_

 _I have told them._ Mishka's voice was tense. _They do not know that cave but Inaros is moving to that section of the colony and they have sent bots out. He won't get in unnoticed._

 _Good._ Elenia said with smile that her faceplate hid. _Your mom? I can feel she is calmer. But not._

 _She is calmer about herself. She is infuriated by what is going on with Sean._ Mishka chuckled. _She and Surgeon are having a 'discussion' about her resting._

 _Oh._ Jasmina and Elenia chorused that. They had _both_ been on the receiving end of a few of Iriana's 'discussions'. None had been pleasant. Neither of them wanted to repeat the experience, especially when the dedicated Healer mass of the Caretakers took Iriana's side almost all the time.

 _She does need it. Glad it is not me trying to tell her that though._ Elenia paused as a sound came to her auditory sensors. Someone was ahead of her and was not being quiet. She couldn't make out word, but from the voice it was male. Probably her target. She paused as the sound coalesced into cursing.

Elenia simply stood there of a moment stunned by the sheer vitriol that the other was spewing out. He wasn't just angry. He was livid and he didn't care who heard him. She eased forward and then paused as she saw _why_ he was so angry. She fought hard not to laugh.

The Excalibur was _stuck_.

It was well known that there were pockets of Infested on Phobos. The clan that had augmented Inaros' defense of the colony had found and eliminated several groups. Elenia and Jasmina had managed to sway a couple of other groups to join their mass. They would be a while acclimatizing and while they were less feral even now than normal Infested, it would be awhile before either Caretaker allowed them out into the wild again. Once the ones who would join the Caretakers were gone, the other Tenno did what they did. Elenia did not blame them, although she did grieve for the wanton slaughter. Feral Infested had no reason, no way to be anything other than they were. It was a horror, but it was needed.

She shook her head as she examined the Excalibur's predicament. He had apparently run into a mass of Infested spores, and thinking they were coating the floor, had stepped bolding into them, not seeing a hole that that had apparently grown up through. If it was anything like other pits she had seen, the sides were coated with enough gunk to make them insanely slippery. He had little leverage to escape without help.

 _You gotta be kidding me..._ Elenia managed to constrain her mirth, freezing as the Excalibur did. She was about to speak aloud when his hand came up and the bolto in it spat. Something knocked Elenia out of the line of fire as the bolts passed through where she had been.

"You ignorant little shit." Tiana's voice stilled everything in the cavern. "We _were_ just going to send you away. But enough. You want death? So be it." A strong hand pulled Elenia to her feet and she saw Tiana behind her, unlimbering her Gorgon Wraith.

"Tiana, wait." Elenia pleaded. "He didn't hit me."

"If he _had_ , Jasmina would tear him - _and_ _us!_ \- apart." Tiana fired, her flurry of shots hitting the Excalibur's hand, tearing the bolto from it and throwing it away. He drew with his other hand and Tiana shot _it_ , leaving the Excalibur half out of the floor screaming in rage at her as he clutched ruined hands that would heal quickly. " _Once_ seeing you dead was more than enough, Caretaker!" She focused her ire on the Excalibur. "Stand down, you _brat!_ Or the next burst goes through your _head_!"

 _ **Warlord Tiana.**_ An imperious voice sounded and everything stopped as Inaros appeared nearby in a swirl of sand. _**He is in our territory.**_

"I..." Tiana lowered her rifle and bowed deeply. "My apologies, Guardian Inaros. I did not mean to start violence here."

 **You** _ **did not begin this.**_ Inaros nodded to her. _**You have disarmed him when you could have killed. Good shots.**_

"Karl would have me do a thousand pushups for not firing center mass." Tiana slung her rifle. "Next time I will." She said with a dismissive snort at José.

At that, the Excalibur started to rant and struggle. He wasn't making any sense. Tiana and Elenia looked at each other and then at the Guardian who shrugged and weaved a hand. The Excalibur froze in place, brown energy coruscating all over his form.

 _ **All Tenno life is precious, Warlord Tiana.**_ Inaros chided her gently and she bowed her head to acknowledge the gentle rebuke.

"Tenno serve, we do not rule." TIana said formally and Inaros bowed to her in equal formality, acknowledging her reply. "He won't learn."

 _ **Probably not without drastic measures.**_ Now Inaros was sad as he looked at the still form of José. _**I could teach him, but my methods would anger many.**_

"Not as many now." Tiana shook her head. "He has violated your territory and he came armed to kill. Do you wish to seek justice?"

 _ **I believe Healer Iriana would like to speak to him.**_ Inaros sounded calm, but... Both Elenia and Tiana winced at that.

"May we be of assistance?" Tiana inquired as she kicked the closest of José's bolto to Elenia who bent to pick it up.

"Thank you, Warlord, but that is not needed." Iriana's voice rang out and both Tenno froze as a holo of her appeared beside Inaros. She was lying down on something that wasn't visible in the holo, but her eyes were flashing. "You just don't learn, do you, José?" His name without the honorific 'Tenno' in front of it. That was very rude. Tiana winced again. Oh, Iriana was _not_ happy. Iriana looked at Inaros. "Let him speak, Guardian?"

 _ **You know what he is going to say, Healer.**_ Inaros sounded less than enthused.

"There are forms for a _reason_ , Guardian." Iriana replied. Inaros slumped and nodded. José jerked and then started screaming.

" _You cannot stop me from challenging that renegade piece of shit!_ " The Excalibur was almost frothing at the mouth. Tiana and Elenia both stiffened, but Inaros just shook his head. " _He is listening! I know he is! I challenge you, renegade!_ "

 _ **Now, why would he accept a**_ **honor** _ **challenge from an**_ **honorless** _ **piece of crap like**_ **you** _ **?**_ Inaros began, but paused as Iriana raised a hand. _**Healer?**_

"Sean is asleep." Iriana said quietly. "He will be for some time. Your stupidity mixed with others' hostility hurt him badly, José. Not that I expect you to _care_. You only care for _yourself_. So be it. My brother is incapacitated, so _I_ will champion him and take up your challenge."

Jose had been relaxing as Iriana spoke, but suddenly, _no one_ was relaxed. Tiana and Elenia stared at each other, stunned out of words.

" _What_?" The Excalibur said into the sudden stillness.

" _I_ am Tenno and _I_ stand as my brother's champion in this." Iriana said quietly. "Against _any_ who would harm him. You are a coward as well a traitor to the Code. You _have_ no honor. You are _no_ Tenno. Name the place, _filth_. _I_ choose the weapons."

It _should_ have been ludicrous, the Healer saying such a thing. It _wasn't_. She meant _every_ _**word**_.

"You can't _do_ that! I won't fight you." José managed even as Tiana fought to gain control of her tongue.

"Then you will _die_."


	17. Chapter 17

**Choices**

"Iriana..." Tiana spoke into the silence that had fallen as the Excalibur struggled to comprehend what was happening. "No."

"My choice, Warlord." Iriana said firmly from where she lay. "I am Tenno even if he is not. I do abide by the Code even if he _will_ not." Tiana felt her entire world start to crumble beneath her as the Healer spoke truth.

"That is insane!" José snapped. "You are a Healer."

"So?" Iriana was to all appearances, _bored_.

"So you are not a Warrior." José was trying to talk down to her, but she was having none of it.

" _So_?" She repeated. "What is your _point_? It's not like _you_ are a _Tenno_." José stared at her and she smiled. There was _nothing_ friendly about it. When she spoke, it was if to a not quite bright child. "To be _Tenno_ , you have to follow the _Code_ and you _don't_. So..." She shrugged. "Your challenge is accepted, jackass. Choose the location or forfeit that. If _I_ get to choose, I will choose the land just outside Inaros' colony. I don't want to go far and I do not want to kill you _inside_ his colony as that would break their laws. You couldn't care else about such, but I _do_."

"Healer." José laughed, but it was a bit strained. "This isn't funny."

"Am I laughing?" Nikis himself might not have bettered Iriana's cold malice. "Your challenge is accepted. By _me_. Guardian Inaros." She turned to scrutinize the frozen Guardian. "Is the form of championing an incapacitated brother valid?"

 _ **It is.**_ The sand colored warframe as shaking his head. _**Healer...**_

" _Any_ Tenno can champion a cause he or she finds just. I find Sean's cause just." Iriana said calmly. "I told Sean I would stand with him. This is me standing with him." Her gaze turned back to José. "Choose the location or forfeit that right." Steel might have bent before the Healer's snarl.

"I won't fight you." Jose said as firmly as he could.

"Then you _will_ die." Iriana said flatly. "I am sick of you. The Elders are sick of you. My clan in its entirely is sick of you." José recoiled but couldn't go anywhere. "You think killing Sean will do anything for you? You lost that battle when you decided not to listen to the Elders. When you decided to show _everyone_ how much _better_ than us you are. So be it. Choose. Now."

José seemed to vanish. Tiana cursed and ran to the hole. As she had surmised, he had managed to move enough to free himself from the stone's embrace and fall into the hole. Her hand light could not see the bottom. She turned to Inaros who shook his head.

 _ **He has fled into the deeper caverns. I freed him to speak to the Healer. That was my mistake.**_ He turned to Iriana's holo and his posture was grim. _**Healer. I cannot allow this.**_

"We will talk." Iriana promised. The holo vanished and Tiana stared at where it had been.

"She has the right." Elenia sounded stunned and Tiana could relate. "Any Tenno does. But..." She was shaking and Tiana took her arm in a gentle grip.

"We won't let it happen." Tiana swore. "We _cannot_ let her fight him. He will cheat. It is what he _does_."

 _ **For what it is worth...**_ Inaros said into the sudden silence. _**He did not demand a death duel.**_

"He didn't have _time_." Elenia's chuckle was forced. "Guardian, you have no reason to trust. Many reasons not to. But Tiana's clan is caught up in battle outside. You may be needed to defend your colony. Allow us to search for the one who escaped." Tiana stiffened but did not speak as Inaros scrutinized the Mag.

 _ **He would have killed you without a thought.**_ Inaros said slowly. Elenia nodded. _**And you wish to... what?**_

"We can find him, Guardian." Elenia was respectful, but very tense. Small wonder. All of the Caretakers loved Iriana. "We can track him. Anywhere he can go in these caves, we can follow."

 _ **Callisto has been very careful in what she has said about you Caretakers.**_ Inaros mused. _**Nikis was circumspect as well. That is highly unlike the old fart. So... whatever you do... will upset me.**_ Elenia nodded. _**That former Tenno can do a great deal of damage if left unchecked and now the**_ **Healer** _ **of all people has demanded to fight him. I did not think she would do that.**_ Regret and remorse warred in his tone.

"Neither did I. I know she has limits but...that was unexpected." Tiana bowed her head. "I will rejoin my clan but I need to talk to her. Elenia, be _careful_. If anything happens to you, Jasmina will flip again."

" _I_ won't be the one tracking him." Elenia said calmly.

Inaros stared at her, then shook his head and vanished in a cloud of sand. Tiana slumped a bit, and then laid her hand on the Mag's arm. Like a waft of dream, the Nyx Prime as gone. Elenia knelt into seiza by the hole that José had fallen through and focused her mind. The mass mind shared her sorrow and fear at this turn of events. They all shared her fury and focused on trying to find the fugitive. Hopefully before anything else happened.

* * *

The colony

"Healer." Inaros' voice was stern as he appeared at her bedside. Iriana was not alone. Surgeon stood frozen nearby and Mishka was crying as she held her mother's hand. She had been listening through Elenia. The ancient Guardian was shaking his head. "You _cannot_ do this!"

"Show me an alternative, Inaros." Iriana asked, her tone faint. Inaros stared at her and then at Surgeon who shook his head.

"She won't be able to _move_." Surgeon said with a snarl. It was fear, not anger. "She _certainly_ cannot fight."

"There are many ways to fight, Surgeon." Iriana's face held a small, sad smile now. "I am not going to lose."

"Healer." Ianros tried again. "Let me take the mantle of champion. I was about to. You are right, _any_ Tenno may champion a cause he or she feels just and this _is_ one such. He won't have a chance against me."

"He doesn't have a chance against _me_." Iriana smiled wider at Mishka's sudden confusion. "I never _did_ say what weapon I would choose." Inaros stared at her, his gaze suddenly intent.

"Healer." Surgeon was losing patience. "He is in a warframe. You are not and are in no shape to take one."

"I don't need one, Surgeon." Iriana smiled widely as Inaros jerked upright. "Yes. It is a weapon."

"You..." Inaros actually _chuckled_. "Remind me never to get on your _bad_ side, Healer." Iriana's smile became a smirk as Mishka stared from one to the other. "She is right, Tenno Mishka." The Guardian reassured Iriana's daughter. "He _doesn't_ have a chance against her. This duel will be over quickly."

"Guardian!" Surgeon begged.

"I do not like this, Surgeon." Inaros agreed. "You are very weak, Healer." He laid a hand on Iriana's and scarabs swarmed over her. "Rest now."

"Am I within my rights, Guardian Inaros?" Iriana asked as her eyes closed. "My anger clouds me. I am not... sure of the legality."

"It is wrong. Healers should not have to fight." Inaros said with a sigh. "But it _is_ legal."

"Don't... let Sean wake..." Iriana pleaded as consciousness fled.

"What did she do?" Inaros asked Mishka as Surgeon checked Iriana's vitals, slipped a small oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and stepped away, his face set.

"He was going to go out and meet José." Mishka said sadly. "Unarmed and unarmored. It would have been quick at least." Inaros bowed his head. "She knocked him out after telling him she would champion his cause. Guardian... I do not understand. She _cannot_ match even that lousy excuse for a Tenno in a warframe!"

"Not _physically_ , no." Inaros agreed. Mishka stared at him and then went still. "Yes, Tenno Mishka. Your mother is a _very_ smart and sneaky woman. And I say that with the _utmost_ respect."

"She fights to win." Mishka's face was a study. Shock. Disbelief. Awe. "She is treating him like a cancer!" Inaros looked at her and she grimaced. "I.. um... had a really bad reaction to several things. It caused a cancer in my leg." She patted her leg.

"Are you all right?" Inaros asked, worried. Mishka nodded and he relaxed. "She cured you?"

"Not just her." Mishka heaved a sigh that mixed grief with admiration. "Another doctor cut it out and I received a bone marrow transplant. It worked." She patted her leg again. "Although the rest of the treatment sucked."

"I remember some." Inaros said slowly. "The treatments for such involved radiation. That can be very bad for Tenno energy."

"It was no fun at _all_." Mishka swallowed in memory but then smiled. "Good news is that I am clean now. I have checkups regularly." She shook her head. "I need to apologize. I have been beyond rude."

"You feared for your mother's _life_." Inaros said gently. "No one blames you for that."

" _I_ do." Mishka said softly. "Caretakers are supposed to be above such prejudices. I should have judged you by your actions, not your history."

"I am hardly perfect, Caretaker and I have done horrible things." Inaros turned to where the bandaged Grineer was working. "In the past, when travelers crossed my borders, I did take free will from them. It took most of my kin to show me my errors. And I fought my kin when they tried to help me." Ancient shame sounded in his tone. "I nearly killed Ember."

"But you came back." Mishka reached out a hand that Inaros took. "I feared you would treat mom like that Grineer. I was wrong. You and your people have been kind to us. Not the horror that we were warned of."

"Expediency is a slippery slope, Caretaker Mishka." Inaros gave her hand a squeeze and released it. "Do not judge us by this. We are on our best behavior because your mother is here. We are just as capable of horror as any."

"Is that so?" Mishka asked. "I have seen Pip. He isn't connected the same way the others are. Why isn't he terrified? Or at least unhappy?"

"Because _he_ actually runs the place and we are all his devoted _servants_." Callisto's voice was snide as she entered the room but she was smiling to take the sting from her words. Mishka smiled at her and nodded. "We heard. Guardian? Are you _sure_?" She asked as she moved to Mishka's side and enfolded the girl in her arms. Mishka hugged her back, her brave from crumbling in the face of Callisto's kindness.

"Nothing in life is a hundred percent sure, matriarch." Inaros said quietly. "But I can say with absolute sincerity that the former Tenno who challenged has _no_ idea what he is facing. Healer Iriana is both cunning and wise. A rare combination." He shook his head. "My question for her daughte r is... can she be ruthless?"

"Oh yes. Any healer will tell you that in order to heal some wounds, you have to cause hurt." Mishka was crying softly as Callisto held her. Surgeon nodded from where he stood when the others looked at him.

"It is often a matter of gauging the damage versus the gain." Surgeon said quietly. "Can she do it?"

"Kill? Yes. Mom has had to end lives to alleviate suffering." Mishka reached out and took her mother's limp hand, holding it as Callisto sat with her in the chair by Iriana's bed. "Sometimes it is the only merciful thing to do. She never liked it, but..." She slumped and bowed her head. Callisto held her gently, stroking her hair.

"But sometimes it is the only choice." Inaros finished the thought for her softly. "You need rest, Mishka."

"I know." Mishka had her head pillowed on Callisto's shoulder now. "I just..."

"Set up a bed in here, Surgeon." Callisto said quietly. "She stays with her mom." Mishka looked up at the matriarch through glistening eyes and Callisto smiled sadly. Surgeon nodded and left the room.

"I am scared." Mishka said in a tiny voice. "She is so weak. I know she is strong and sneaky, but..."

"It is all right, Caretaker Mishka." Inaros promised as Callisto soothed the distraught girl. "It will be all right."

* * *

The cave

"Welp... Didn't see _that_ one coming." Nikis had a scowl in his voice as he peered into the pit where José had vanished. Karen had escorted him to cave and then gone to join her clan in driving off the latest Grineer assault. Eventually, the clones would back off again, but it might take a while. They were darn persistent.

 _Nikis..._ Jasmina's mental voice was tired, but the fear in it was heartfelt. _Iriana cannot win against a warframe._

 _Don't fret, Fire Heart._ Nikis said with a nod to Elenia who rose from her kneeling posture to stand beside him. _Iriana knows what she is doing. The idiot challenged, she accepted. If he follows any rules at all, he chooses the place,_ **she** _chooses the weapons. In that case, he is screwed._

 _And if he doesn't?_ Jasmina asked.

 _Then between me and Inaros, he might_ **draw** _another weapon. He_ **won't** _live to use it._ Nikis said with a growl worthy of an old Earth Grizzly bear. "Nasty pit." He said to Elenia who nodded. "Anything?"

"Small masses." Elenia said with a scowl in her own voice. "Nothing large. The clan and Inaros have been thorough." Nikis looked at her and she sighed. "I know it is what they do, but still. It hurts, Nikis."

"I don't pretend to understand what you do, Mind of Light."Nikis said, calling Elenia by her name given by the mass mind. "You do it and that is good enough for me. But millennia of ill feeling is not undone in a few months. Tenno were born of fire and hate. Not all of us stay there, but that is what we are. We exist to keep the Technocyte Virus in check. It is what we are."

"I know." Elenia shook her head. "I mean, the mass mind agrees. It's just... Not all of them are mindless, Nikis."

"Mind of Light..." Nikis laid a gentle hand on the Mag's shoulder. "You know that. I know that. And yes, I too regret that far too many of them cannot be reasoned with. But what we cannot change, we must endure."

"Yes, Grandmaster."Elenia said in a very small voice as she bowed her head. Then she gave a squeak as he slapped the cheek of her faceplate. "Nikis!"

"Come on, girl. We need to find that scum so that Iriana can fulfill her challenge." Nikis stepped to the edge of the pit and Elenia followed. "Ready?"

 _Yeah, sure she is ready to jump into a dark hole filled with who knows what with an ancient cantankerous fart._ The voice of Jasmina's slain mate sounded in both of their minds and Elenia bit back a laugh as Nikis growled again, this time at Dust's snide comment. Nikis' son was dead, but he wasn't entirely gone. He didn't fall under Nikis' jurisdiction, since the remnants of his mind resided in the mind mass that Jasmina, Mishka and Elenia warded but he still made his presence known at times. _She is taken, Dad._

 _Be very glad I can't spank you._ Nikis said sourly as he stepped into the narrow pit. Elenia followed with a snort.

The hole was narrow and both warframes hit the wall several times on the way down. Neither of them took any damage however, their shielding protecting them from the impacts. The fall took almost a minuet all told, but eventually, they touched down. The warframes worked as always, dissipating the kinetic energy of the impacts into the Void instead of the surrounding area with only minor tremors and no noise. There was no light at all until Nikis turned on his hand light. Elenia followed suit.

Elenia turned right and Nikis turned left. Both used their hand lights to scan the ground at their feet. Then Nikis' light paused on a patch of rock and Elenia turned to see something that wasn't rock. Nikis stepped forward and bent to one knee, examining the fluid that had fallen to pool on the rock. Elenia maintained an overwatch, her Phage held ready.

After a moment, Nikis rose and started forward, his light dimming, but not going out entirely. Stood to reason, bright light in a dark place was an immediate giveaway. Elenia hung back, her own light still on full. Nikis nodded to her, but did not react otherwise. His pistols were now in hand.

They needed one of the pair to be visible, to show the area with the brighter light. Nikis was by far the more dangerous of the pair so it simply made sense for him to be the hidden threat. Elenia knew that despite his gruffness, he would die before he let anything happen to her. He still felt he had failed her once before even thought it hadn't been his fault that her personal energy had failed.

Both of them froze as a shrill scream sounded through the cave. It wasn't José. The pair of warframe looked at one another and started forward, weapons ready.

 _I know you are here!_ The mental voice of their quarry sounded. Nikis held up a hand and Elenia froze in place. _There you are! Spying on me!_

"Let me go, you monster!" A very young sounding voice gave out a cry of pain.

Nikis and Elenia stared at each other. Who the hell?

"What have we here? You are one of the colonists." José's voice was cold and the boy cried out again. "You are my ticket into that place to find my target. Where is the other?"

"Won't help you! Mom run!" The boy exclaimed and the sound of feet were running towards the two warframes.

"Stop or I will fire!" Jose commanded. The feet continued and then the cave was torn by the sound of a Boltor shooting a burst and the area lit up, shadows fleeing the fire from the weapon. The feet sound stopped abruptly. "Stupid human!"

"Mom!" The boy screamed. "No!"

"You are going to take me to Sean, boy." Jose said with a snarl. "Move." The boy was crying in pain and grief. The sound faded.

Nikis bowed his head and then orange energy poured from his gauntlets. The power illuminated a still form lying nearby. He went to his knees beside the form. A human woman. She was alive and staring at Nikis as he bent over her, putting a finger to where his lips would be. Her eyes went huge as the energy seeped around her and Elenia went to her knees beside the stricken human, her own hands gentle as she worked to stem the flow of blood. The wounds were bad, but not immediately life threatening.

"Pip was exploring again... I... He... He took Pip..." The woman managed to croak. "I..."

"Don't worry none, Ma'am." Nikis patted the woman on the shoulder and his form was suddenly wreathed in shadow. "Elenia will tend you."

"I'll go get this Pip person back for ya."


	18. Chapter 18

**Empathy**

Nikis stalked his prey through the darkness. But to him, the cave was almost as bright as day. Darkness, even pitch black darkness, was his true home. He wasn't seeing in spectra that humans would recognize. It wasn't sight per say. It wasn't sonar. It was more a feeling of spatial relations, but one he had honed over years and centuries. Some had called it 'shadow sight' or other such gobbledygook. Nikis didn't bother. It worked, that was enough for him.

As he stepped forward, weapons in hand, he scanned with even obscure senses. Senses that even most Tenno had no clue about. He could feel two sets of life energy behind him, one fainter than the other. He could feel two lives ahead of him. One was familiar, the scum he was hunting. The other must be the one named Pip. From the voice he and Elenia had heard, a human child.

The ancient Nekros shook his head even as his awareness remained focused on his surroundings. This was _not_ going to end well. If he had to, he would kill the child to stop the other. But something deep inside the hardbitten exterior quailed from that. Even as old and gnarled as Nikis was, he knew his duty. Tenno served. They _protected_ humanity.

José was lost. He was not a Tenno anymore. Maybe he thought killing Sean would bring back his tossed aside honor? It wouldn't, but maybe he thought that. There was no way to sugar coat his actions here however. Taking a human child hostage was against _everything_ Tenno stood for. When the Elders heard about _this_ , there would be _no_ waffling. No debate and no mercy. They had given the brat far more rope than he deserved and he had finally tightened the noose about his own neck.

But... This was odd. When he had heard José speak before, the renegade had demanded the boy lead him to the colony. They were not going that direction. It was hard to tell so deep underground, but Nikis could barely feel the direction to Iriana and Mishka. He could feel them through the link the Caretakers had gifted him with to talk to his son. There was no way Jose could. The boy was leading José _away_ from that feeling. Away from the colony. Brave kid or broken by his mom being shot? Hard to say.

Nikis slowed his pace as he saw a light up ahead. It was moving around erratically, but it was clearly from the familiar life force that Nikis could sense. His shadows swarmed up round him, swallowing the little bits of light that came his way as he studied what he could sense and see.

Two forms. The Excalibur that was his quarry and the boy that he and Elenia had heard. Both were making their way through mostly natural caverns. _Mostly_ because even _here_ , the Orokin had tampered. Lousy greedy good for nothing sonsofguns simply hadn't been able to stop tinkering. The floor was flat and despite pools of water in places, the way was fairly clear. Stalactites and stalagmites were forming so this area had no power to self repair now. The flora on the walls and parts of the floor was worrisome. Infested had been here, but then again, clearing them completely out of an area was nearly impossible. Inaros had managed once, long before. But it had taken him quite some time and a lot of effort. There was no sign of recent Infestation however as Nikis followed the pair, seeking a shot.

He didn't want to kill José although he would if he had to. If Nikis _did_ , he would have to work hard bring the scum back to stand before Iriana and take his lumps from the furious Healer. Her challenge was valid and the brat had no idea how badly he was screwed. The main thing was... If Nikis killed José, he would have to spend energy that he didn't want to waste on the idiot to bring him back. Lazy? Maybe. José had really managed to push a lot of buttons and Nikis didn't want to help him in any way, even if the ancient Nekros _could_ make it incredibly painful.

He had no shot. José was holding the boy close. The loadouts in Nikis' Magnus pistols would tear through the warframe and _then_ through the boy without slowing down. He was a good enough shot that he was confident in his placement, but things happened. Ricochets were no one's friend. If a bullet hit the boy in the head, he was gone. What was worse? José had his melee weapons out.

Boltace were _nasty_ weapons. Nikis had seen more weapons in his life than he tried to remember. He never had much of a use for tonfa style weapons, preferring a sword or a Glaive, occasionally an Ether Reaper Scythe. But they were fast and these were optimized for cutting through armor. What they would do to unarmored flesh was not worth thinking about. If he gave José any chance at all, the Excalibur would block his shots, perhaps deflect them at the boy. So, whatever he did would have to be fatal.

Nikis had resigned himself to reviving the fool, taking careful aim with both Magnuses at the head of José's warframe when things changed.

 _No._ The word was mental. Soft, but everywhere. Nikis stilled as he recognized it. _The mass mind_? Speaking to _him_? _Do not._

"What?" Jose reacted predictably, pulling the struggling boy close to himself as he brandished once of his Boltace with his free hand. "Who is there?" No one answered him and he shook the boy. "Who was that?"

"I don't know." The boy managed through clenched teeth, pain sounding in his tone. Nikis blood boiled as José slapped the boy with the side of one of his tonfas. "I don't _know!_ " The boy wailed as blood fell down the side of his head.

 _You are doomed, fool._ The mass mind's voice was everywhere. José spun in place, trying to seek the source, but of course, it was nowhere nearby. _How many must die with you? For you_ **are** _dead. You have angered too many, done too much to go back._

"Whatever you are, you do not know what you are talking about!" José snapped, starting off carrying the boy.

 _No?_ The mass mind asked. _Such an exemplary Tenno. A liar. A cheat. Now a terrorist and taker of hostages. If you are very lucky, the_ **Healer** _will kill you. If not..._

"Shut up!" José was flaying and Niksi felt a glimmer of hope. "That renegade stole my honor. I will have it back!"

 _He did not steal it. You threw it away willingly. Rules do not apply to you. We all know this._ Nikis had never heard that timbre of disgust from the mass mind. _We will give you one_ **final** _chance. Release your hostage and walk away. Meet the Healer at your chosen place with her choice of weapon. Redeem yourself the only way you can or this is going to get_ **very** _messy._

" _SCREW YOU!_ " The boy in Jose's arms cried out as the Boltace bit into his side. "Show yourself!"

 _As you wish._ Nikis stared as the darkness ahead of the pair he had been stalking suddenly lit up with the golden energy of a portal transit. The area they had been walking into was a huge cavern. In the darkness it had been impossible to see clearly even with Nikis' odd sight. Nikis was standing at one entrance. Another cave mouth sat a long ways across a dark stone floor. But it was what was _between_ them that drew the eye. The _horde_ of Infested that stood there and the _Ember Prime warframe_ that stood in front of them all, her Glaive Prime lighting the area with the fires of her soul. The boy was crying in pain as José froze in place.

"I _would_ tell you to surrender. But you won't and frankly? I don't _want_ you to, renegade. You have caused _enough_ problems!" Jasmina said with a snarl. "But you do have _my_ word. We won't _kill_ you." Her tone turned sly. "If you would please, Nikis?"

José spun. Too late. Nikis fired.

Both shots flew true and struck the shoulder of the warframe that the arm holding the boy was connected to. Warframes were notoriously durable, but Nikis had come armed for Tenno. The boy fell to the ground, Jose tried to grab for him but Nikis fired again and the other arm hung limp. It wouldn't last. The warframe would heal. Provided of course that Jasmina and her allies _let_ it.

"Nikis! The boy is _bleeding!_ " Jasmina's cry of alarm had the Nekros in motion even as a _torrent_ of Infested charged José. The Technocyte Virus spread any number of ways, but the absolute _best_ route? An open wound.

The Excalibur backpedaled, trying to gain distance to heal the damage Nikis had done even as Chargers and Leapers rushed at him. Ancients followed as well as other larger and odder forms. All focused on the former Tenno who was trying his hardest to escape now. Futilely. Nikis stood over the boy as Jasmina knelt beside him, her hands checking him professionally. The Nekros watched with no small amusement as the renegade Excalibur was driven into a corner and literally _buried_ in a tidal wave of biomass.

"I am sorry." The boy's voice was soft, weak.

"Not your fault, boy." Jasmina's tone was kind as she checked him out. She spared a glance at the wall where José was buried and then focused on her work. "Just like any family group, Tenno have good ones and bad ones. A bad one hurt you."

"He killed my mom." The boy was crying hard as Jasmina worked.

"She is not dead. Another Caretaker is with her." Jasmina reassured him. The boy stiffened and then grunted in pain. "Sorry, sorry. Almost done."

"I... Am I am sick!" The boy wailed. "Mom... No..."

"No, you are not." Jasmina reassured him. "What is your name? Mine is Jasmina."

"D...David." The boy was fighting hard to stop crying. Nikis approved. This kid had strength to spare as young as he was. He would be a heck of a man someday. "But everyone calls me Pip."

"Well, Pip." Jasmina finished what she was doing and lifted the hurt boy to cradle him in her arms. "You are not infected, but we better get you back to your mom. Elenia says you were exploring." Her tone was mild, but the boy jerked in her arms.

"Didn't mean to be bad." Pip said weakly.

 _ **You never do.**_ Nikis and Jasmina both went still as _Inaros_ appeared at the cave mouth Nikis had entered from. His posture was resigned. All of the Infested in the area froze as well. _**Ellen will tan your backside, David.**_

"Oh, I am in trouble." Pip was crying, trying to burrow into Jasmina's arms. "Only get called that when I make people mad."

 _ **Or scared.**_ Inaros wasn't arguing. Indeed, he wasn't hostile! _**Caretaker?**_

"He is not infected." Jasmina said with a nod. "I checked deep but no sign of the Virus. Some deep cuts and punctures that will need more than battlefield care, so he should leave this place." She started for the cave mouth.

 _ **That is wise.**_ Inaros looked to the pile of Infested and then at the Caretaker. _**Hell of a story?**_ Nikis started laughing and Inaros shook his head. _**Shut up, you old fart. And watch your**_ **mouth** _ **. Kid present.**_

"Yeah. It is." Jasmina stared from the Nekros who was pacing her now to Inaros and her chuckle was wry as Nikis made a rude gesture at Inaros. "We didn't want to compromise you. Most Tenno..." She broke off as Inaros made a throwing away gesture.

 _ **...do not react well to Infested.**_ Inaros continued. _**Or the thought of sentient Infested. But I must admit, your display was quite impressive. The mind who spoke to the renegade was quite powerful. I could hear it all the way back where I was. Then the portal. Is he contained?**_ He glanced to where José was buried.

"Frozen in place with no power for his warframe. Alive, aware and stuck tight." Jasmina replied as she fell in beside the taller warframe. "My advice? _Leave_ him there for a bit. He won't learn but maybe he will think twice about doing things like _this_." She nodded to Pip who had nodded off. "We will keep the area secure and safe. And if he does manage to get free? We have some _fun_ time."

 _ **Vicious.**_ Inaros commented. _**I like you.**_

"She is taken." Nikis had a scowl in his voice but all three of them laughed.

* * *

A few minutes later

"Pip!" Ellen was on a stretcher with Surgeon hovering as the three warframes arrived back where she had been wounded. Elenia was gone. "Pip!"

"He is hurt, but he is alive." Jasmina laid the boy down on another stretcher and Surgeon came close. She backed up and nodded to Ellen as Surgeon started working. "He is going to be okay."

"Not when I get my hands on him, he won't be." Ellen snapped, trying to sit up, only to hiss and lie back down. Tears were falling like rain. "I _told_ him not to go so far from the colony."

 _He has a brave heart, Ellen._ Inaros knelt down by her stretcher and took her hand in his. _We must teach him to temper that brave heart with wisdom. But we must not harm him for being what he is. He is a child, Ellen. He doesn't understand how the world really works._

"Understands more than you might think." Nikis allowed and everyone looked at him. The Nekros shrugged. "He was leading the fool _away_ from the colony. Somehow, I _doubt_ that was an accident."

"Ah... Pip." Ellen slumped on her stretcher.

Inaros looked at Surgeon who nodded. The warframe held a hand over her and green mist fell. She was asleep in between one breath and other. He stretcher rose, held up by what looked like a whirlwind made of sand. Nikis shook his head but remained silent as Surgeon finished with Pip and started off, the boy's stretcher following. Only after they were gone did Nikis speak.

"This tears it. That idiot has gone beyond anything _anyone_ might have accepted." The Nekros groaned. "I guess I gotta talk to Mavri again."

G _ive over, you old cuss._ Inaros said with a mental snort. _You are proud of Mavri._

"Don't you _start_!" Nikis declared as Jasmina fought to control her mirth. "You give him an even bigger ego and guess who has to deal with it? Not _you_ , that is for sure." Inaros made the same rude gesture at Nikis that Nikis had made at _him_ earlier and Jasmina had a laugh escape her.

 _Whatever._ Inaros' amusement faded as Jasmina looked away. _Caretaker. Are you well?_

"Yes." Jasmina said quickly and then paused. "Actually, no. This is the longest I have spent with Tenno who are not Caretakers in quite some time." Nikis looked at her but refrained from comment. "I wonder, sometimes how Tenno I truly am now."

 _Stop that._ The voice of the mass mind was clearly audible to all of them, as loud as it slammed through Jasmina's skull. She winced as the Infested mass's ire rang her mind like a bell. _You are what you are, Fire Heart. You are tired and angry at the fool. We lost some today and you fear for us. But we are strong. Take care of_ **yourself** _._

 _Fire Heart._ Inaros mused. Jasmina nodded and he bowed to her. _Apt._

"Should call _them_ 'Meddling Godmothers'." Jasmina said sourly, and groaned as Nikis started laughing. "Nikis, please stop."

 _The other, Elenia, is your mate._ It wasn't really a question but Jasmina nodded anyway. _I have no problem with any who find comfort in other people's arms. Being a Guardian of the Dead takes much from us but we do not lose our empathy._ He started off, following the way the stretchers had gone and both other Tenno followed.

"Most of us." Nikis retorted. "I lost mine for a long time. Just recently got it back."

 _Hell of a story_ **there** _._ Inaros commented. Nikis snarled half heartedly and Jasmina chuckled.

"Oh, yes." Jasmina was chuckling even as Nikis turned a full power glare at her. "She had to hit him with a fairly sizeable clue bat to get his attention."

 _I was always fond of a clue by four myself for certain people._ Inaros replied even as Nikis made a choking noise. _Naming no names, of course._

"Of course." Jasmina was grinning under her helmet as they walked. "Then again, when a lady is floating in mid-air and _glowing_... It tends to get one's attention."

 _ **Glowing?**_ Inaros stared from Jasmina to the Nekros whose posture was now ramrod straight. _Oh, this I_ **have** _to hear._

"Jasmina..." Nikis warned.

"Sorry, Nikis." Jasmina had precious little apology in her tone. "Janet scares me more than you do." Inaros stared at her and she shrugged. "Not every day a _human_ holds enough power to wipe out the solar system." Inaros looked from the Ember Prime to the Nekros and back and then he chuckled.

 _Not someone to cross then._ Inaros allowed. _Finally met your match, eh, Nikis?_

"Second mate." Nikis said with a growl. Inaros stiffened and nodded. "But... yeah." Fondness sang in his tone.

 _Well, I offer the hospitality of our colony, Caretaker._ Inaros said with a formal half bow. _If just because I_ **have** _to hear this story._ Nikis groaned, but it was half hearted.

"It is a good one." Jasmina nodded. "And I accept. I'll stay with Iriana and Mishka. At least until the challenge is done."

On that sober thought, the levity died and the mismatched trio walked in silence.

* * *

The Infested pile

He fought his way free of the biomass that had engulfed him. And what was that pile of steaming stuff he had just stepped in? His rifle and tonfas had been torn from his warframe but he himself wasn't harmed. Odd that. He wasn't sure how long he had been in that pile of ick or...

José went still as a menacing growl sounded from nearby. He had no power for his hand light, but suddenly, he didn't need it.

 _Get back in there, you piece of crap!_ The voice that had accosted him before was the last thing he heard before his warframe was disrupted, he was knocked down and he was submerged in Infested flesh and other assorted nastiness again. _Maybe we cannot teach you to treat others like you want to be treated..._

 _But we can TRY!_


	19. Chapter 19

**Sacrifice**

Iriana woke up quickly. She felt good. Better than she had for some time. But something had changed. She looked to the side and Mishka lay in a bed of her own next to the wall. She turned to the door and froze on seeing who stood beside it.

"And they call _me_ crazy." Jasmina was not happy, but she was keeping her voice down to keep from waking Mishka. "Healer..." She begged, holding out a hand as she stepped to Iriana's bedside.

Iriana didn't waste time on words, she pulled the Ember Prime close even as she sat up. She hugged the Caretaker tight.

"It has to be done, Caretaker." Iriana said softly as she hugged the warframe and Jasmina hugged her back so very carefully. "He will continue to spread his rot. It has to be cut out and the wound cauterized or the infection _will_ spread. This has to _end_."

"I know." Jasmina was holding onto her emotions, but Iriana could feel the warframe shaking a little. "But why does it have to be you? Anyone will do it. Especially now."

"Now?" Iriana queried softly. Jasmina did not answer and the bedridden Healer held the Ember at arm's length. "Jasmina... What has he done?"

"He tried to force one of the colonists to guide him here." Mishka said from where she lay. She turned and her eyes were open. Iriana inhaled and Mishka shook her head. "Pip is fine, bruised and a little cut. Ellen is hurt worse."

"Pip?" Irina said weakly. "Ellen? What happened?"

"Pip was exploring." Mishka slid from her bed and moved to Iriana's. Jasmina opened her arms and Mishka went into them gratefully. "When the scum vanished, Ellen realized Pip wasn't where he had been, so she went after him. He caught Pip and then when Ellen did not surrender, he shot her." Iriana was shaking her head and Mishka was quick to continue. "She is alive and they say she will be fine. But it may take some time for her to recover."

"And they won't accept help." Iriana said softly. Mishka and Jasmina both shook their heads. "Hard to blame them after this." Then she stiffened. "Wait. What are _you_ doing here, Jasmina?"

"Nice to see you too, Iriana." The Ember's voice was sour, but Iriana was not diverted. "Nikis went after the scum when he escaped. Elenia was with him. When they found Ellen hurt and Pip taken, Elenia stayed with her to make sure she survived. The mass mind was a bit irked with José." Iriana paled but Jasmina just chuckled. "No, Healer. He is alive. For now."

"In catching him, Jasmina blew the our cover in a big way." Mishka shrugged as the Ember glared at her. "Hey, it's true. That was _not_ subtle in any way, shape or form."

"So... they know." Iriana said slowly.

"And they don't _care_." Mishka said simply. Iriana stared at her daughter and Mishka gave her a hug. "I was fearful myself when I saw Inaros appear there, but he seemed more curious than hostile."

"I just wish he would stop flirting with me." Jasmina said sourly. At that, Iriana's eyes went huge and the Ember chuckled. "Gotcha."

"You are _bad_ , Jasmina." Iriana said with a grunt but then her curiosity go the better of her. "He isn't. Is he?"

"It's a joke." Jasmina reassured the Healer. "He doesn't mean anything by it."

"Does _he_ know that?" Iriana demanded. "If he likes you..." Oh, the mind _boggled_. A three way, four way relationship with an ancient Guardian of the Dead? No. No potential problems there at _all_.

"Healer..." Jasmina's voice turned pained. "Don't. Elenia is already cheering him on. So is _Nikis_." She made a noise of disgruntlement. "It's a joke and he _knows_ it's a joke."

" _You_ think that." Iriana said sharply but paused as a throat clearing sound came from the door. She turned to see Inaros standing there.

"I don't mess around with mated women, Healer." Inaros spoke aloud in this place instead of mental and he had a lordly scowl in his voice. "After all, I learned the repercussions when Nikis learned that the hard way and-"

"Stop right there!" A familiar acerbic voice sounded and Iriana had to fight a grin as Nikis pushed past the other Guardian. "You wanna tell stories, I can tell a few 'bout _you_. What was her name? The girl in the tent? Aziinaeta?"

To Iriana's amazement, Inaros gave Nikis a half bow. It was... sort of respectful? She sighed and let Jasmina go. The Ember stepped back, but Mishka held on tight. Iriana looked from her daughter to the two guardians and then blew out a deep breath.

"Did he ever pick a place?" Iriana asked. Nikis shook his head. "So, I am allowed to choose?" She continued. Inaros nodded. "I choose the area just outside your colony, Guardian Inaros. I will not sully your land with his life."

"That is appreciated, Healer." Inaros was quiet. "Although I _would_ do it. He has angered me."

"He has angered _everybody_." Mishka and Nikis chorused. Mishka froze but relaxed when Nikis chuckled and waved for her to relax.

"No, Guardian." Iriana said softly as she looked down at herself. She felt good, if weak when she tried her extremities. "This will not be a physical contest no matter what he may wish. I am ready."

"Mom." Mishka sat on the bed and hugged her mother tight. "No one will say what you are going to do. Just that he hasn't got a chance."

"He doesn't." Iriana felt a great sadness settle over her. "Mishkling, I don't want you to watch. I have done things that I am not proud of in my life. I have ended lives before. This one... He is a cancer." Mishka bowed her head and nodded. "If left unchecked, he will destroy us all as surely as the mass in your leg would have destroyed your life."

"Honor cannot be the only thing in our lives." Mishka said sadly as Iriana hugged her and then released her. "But without it, things get bad."

"Without some form of control like the Tenno Code..." Iriana agreed. "The strong will take from the weak and it will be anarchy. The Grineer..." She looked out the door as if to look for the enslaved Reclaimer, but there was no sign of her. "Even the Grineer know this. They have their Queens to maintain control. Without that solidity, they would have fractured into hundreds of warring bands and dissolved as a culture long ago. Societies only work so long as the members of said societies agree on the rules. When they stop agreeing, things get rough."

"For everyone." Inaros' voice was quiet, thoughtful. "Rule of law will always beat rule of mob." Iriana nodded.

"Because mobs are only as smart as their stupidest member." Iriana agreed. "But to maintain a society, there have to be sacrifices made. We cannot simply do whatever we wish whenever we wish. There has to be _some_ form of control. Some in history believed that terror would suffice for that control. It never lasted."

"No." Nikis spoke up. "Fear is a powerful tool. I know that well. But eventually, if you keep scaring people, they will get over it and then start looking for ways to hurt you for doing it." He scoffed. "Terrorism only works as long as the ones being terrorized let the scum do it. When they get fed up, the terrorists usually find themselves out in the open fast. They generally don't last long when that happens."

"What was the thing about immoderate moderates?" Inaros asked. Nikis laughed and Inaros waved at him. "Hey. It was a long time ago."

"You only remember that class because the teacher was hot." Nikis said with a snort. Everyone looked at Inaros. Was he embarrassed? "Should have checked for a ring _first_ before flirting, my friend."

"You _would_ bring that up." The slightly younger Guardians said sourly. "The quote?"

"Ah, yeah." Nikis looked at the ceiling for a moment and then nodded. "It went something like 'Immoderates are always outnumbered by the moderates, but their actions will always sway more because they are willing to _do_ more than the moderates'."

"Push moderates far enough through and they will stop _being_ moderates." Inaros continued and Nikis nodded, looking at the others who simply looked confused. "Point it, most Tenno are moderate. We are taught that. We are simply too powerful. We have to police ourselves. When we do not or cannot..." He sighed. "Things like José happen. He truly doesn't think that anything he has done was wrong. Even kidnapping Pip and shooting Ellen was okay because he is right and everyone else is wrong and stupid. He is always right and everyone else is always wrong."

"We cannot change his mind." Iriana agreed. "All we can do is keep him from infecting others with his stupidity."

"We cannot even do _that_." Nikis grumped. "He had a following until he took Pip hostage. _Now_ they are being remarkably quiet. Now, I wonder why _that_ could be?" His rhetorical question was snide. "After all, since he was always right, nothing he did should be used against him."

"There will always be people who think that." Inaros shook his head at Nikis' bitterness. "You know this."

"Yeah." Nikis allowed with a grumpy snort. "Well, this one won't be a problem for long."

"I won't make it permanent, Nikis." Iriana said softly. The others looked at each other and then nodded. "And I won't let you do it either."

"Party pooper." Nikis had a scowl in his voice, but shut up when Iriana glared at him.

"Let's do this." Iriana slid her legs off the bed and stood. She wobbled a little, but no one offered assistance. Mishka held out a hand that Iriana took, but it wasn't to support her. Well, not _physically_. Everyone knew that the Healer _would_ walk out to where she needed to go and anyone who got in her way would get run over. Anyone who dared to offer her help would be snarled at. Mishka slumped as Iriana shook her head. Then the girl sat.

It was a very quiet walk through the colony. The humans they saw all looked sad but nodded to Iriana as she walked. No one spoke as Inaros led them out of the colony to a familiar open sandy area. There they got a surprise. _Sean_ stood on unsteady feet.

"Healer." The unarmored Tenno said softly.

"Idiot Tenno." Iriana said with a scowl worthy of Nikis. "What are _you_ doing awake?"

"This is my fight." Sean was not -quite- pleading. "I need..." He staggered and caught himself. Jasmina moved to stand beside him as Iriana shook her head.

"No, Warrior." Iriana said formally as she moved to stand alone in the middle of the sandy expanse. "This is _every_ Tenno's fight. Without the Code we are _nothing_. Without direction, we are nothing. Without a moral compass to steer by, we will fall to ruin. Every last one of us."

"Well said." Everyone turned to where a Loki warframe shimmered into view. it looked... old. The voice was familiar.

"Mavri." Nikis growled. "Finally got off your duff, huh?"

"Bite me, ya old fart." Mavri snapped as the Elder moved to stand by Iriana. "No one else could have made me take up the frame again, Healer. I had to be here."

"Not the least of which because you were the one who tricked me into this job." Iriana said with a grin. The Loki ignored her and she shook her head. "Still haven't forgiven you for that."

"The needs of the many always outweigh the needs of the one, Healer." Mavri's voice was tired.

"Always?" Iriana asked quietly. Then she shook her head. "No. Not always. Most of the time, yes. Not always. I am ready." This was to everyone. Inaros nodded and she suddenly wilted for a moment. Then she stood up straight again.

Mavri inclined his head to her as there was a sudden commotion at a dark opening nearby. Several warframes were carrying something that struggled. Nyx Prime, Loki, Frost Prime, Valkyr, Excalibur. All carrying another warframe. This one had no weapons and was _covered_ in horrible looking gunk. José. They threw him down into the middle of the area and stepped back, weapons coming to the ready. Nikis and Inaros both had weapons in hand now. Nikis his pistols and Inaros a nasty looking polearm.

"You have abrogated so many of points of the Code that it might be funny in other circumstances." Mavri's voice was a terrible thing. "But it is not. We offered you a chance at life and you threw it away."

"I have rights!" José was trying to bluster but didn't move. Wise of him with so many weapons aimed.

"You have _nothing_." Iriana stepped forward, hands at her sides. "You decided that our kin do not matter to you. You are the only one who matters." Whatever else she was going to say was cut off as a spray of sand flew from José at her. More than one person exclaimed as José's hands met and a glowing sword appeared in them. But energy flared from Iriana and the Excalibur froze in the act of forming his Exalted Blade. Iriana wiped her eyes unhurriedly. "That is _not_ the weapon I choose." Iriana's voice was soft, but her tone... Oh dear. More than one of the surrounding Tenno stepped back as the Healer stepped forward to touch the frozen warframe on the helmet. "You believe that the strong take from the weak. Just like a Grineer. So be it. You are not Tenno."

A short, sharp scream came from José as his Exalted Blade vanished. Then he went to his knees. From there, he fell to the ground and writhed in agony.

"For my weapon, I choose _pain_." Iriana said quietly. "I have taken yours and it barely registered to me. Take _mine_." The warframe in front of her split open and more than one Tenno surrounding the area gagged as Jose fell out of it, screaming. "You are _better_ than everyone else? _Better_ than any of the rest of us who were your kin? So be it. Show us how _much_ better. Take my pain, you arrogant fool. Take it _all_."

It was horrible. Energy flared around the Healer as Jose screamed and writhed on the ground. It didn't seem that he could do anything else. But still, the Healer pressed him with the pain that the colonists were feeding back into her. It went on and on, the energy flaring around her brighter and brighter even as José's screams became croaks and then grunts. Through it all, the Healer stood silent and grim.

Finally, José lay still, curled into a fetal position. Tears had fallen down his face past the bodysuit, enough to pool on the ground under him. He had vomited as well. Still, Iriana just watched as Jose's chest heaved once, twice and then stopped. She turned to Nikis and Inaros, her eyes clear but sad.

"It is done." Iriana slumped a bit. "He is dead. In his challenge, he never said to make it permanent so I will not press for that. Get this _filth_ out of here."

"You know what we will have to do for what he has done." Mavri sounded sick and Iriana nodded.

"I have done part. He will never use a warframe again." Iriana said quietly. "I have fused his neural pathways so that if he tries, it will sear his brain. It will hurt him, but not kill him. When you revive him, he will be alive, aware and totally in control of his faculties. Enough was enough, Elder. The Tenno known as José is no more. His energy must be merged with his organic form. Let him live as a human. For he is _not_ of us anymore."

Simple. Brutal. Effective. All of the Tenno surrounding the Healer and her opponent bowed their heads in grief. They had lost a brother this day.

"Witnessed." Inaros and Nikis both said into the silence that fell. Their tone was both sad and reverent. Then they both stilled.

"Healer." Inaros said slowly. "One of our ancestors wishes to speak with you. No, two." Iriana stepped away from the still form that had been a Tenno and looked at Nikis who shrugged and nodded.

Everything stopped as two transparent forms appeared in the middle of the area, standing by Iriana. Hayden Tenno was _crying_. His face was hard, but tears were falling. The Trinity Prime warframe that stood by him had her own head bowed in grief. Everyone bowed their heads as the First Tenno and the first _Healer_ both shared the grief of the others.

"I am sorry, First One." Iriana said weakly. "There was no other choice."

"We do not grieve for _him_." Trinity was crying. "We grieve that it was needed. But mostly, we grieve for _you_." Iriana staggered and Sean caught her, helping her stand. "How much more can you _take_ , sister?" Trinity begged. "How much more must you _do_?"

"It must be done, Trinity." Iriana protested weakly.

"By you?" Trinity demanded. "Why must it always be by _you_? How much will you suffer? How much will you _sacrifice_ for our kin?"

"You _dare_ ask me that?" Iriana snapped. "Anything! You _know_ this!" She froze as Hayden and Trinity looked at each other. Trinity was calm now. "Wha-?"

"Enough, Sister." Trinity stepped forward, her hand going to Iriana's brow. "You have suffered _enough_. You have _given_ enough. No one should shoulder it _all_ , Dear Iriana." Iriana gasped as Trinity's hand touched her brow.

"No!" Iriana begged. She tried to recoil, but could not move as energy flared around her head. "No! Trinity, no! I can... I can _handle_ it!"

"Of course you can." Trinity said gently as Iriana felt her strength suddenly fade. If not for Sean's strong hands, she would have fallen. "No one can stop you from healing. No one will would _dare_. Especially not now. But I _can_ ease you. You didn't give him all of it." Iriana was fading. Or the _world_ was. " _This_ sacrifice, we take for you."

"Sister."

The lack of pain struck Iriana like a sledgehammer and she knew no more.


	20. Chapter 20

**Mortal**

Mishka was well trained. She didn't burst into tears or even react when Sean carried her unconscious mother into the medical ward and set her down on the bed. She stayed in place even as Surgeon did a full exam, finally nodding to the girl.

"She will be okay, Caretaker." Surgeon said with a smile. "She needs the rest and we should let her sleep as much as she can. We will tend her." Mishka touched her mother's still hand and then nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Surgeon." Mishka said softly. "Is she...?" She broke off, unsure of what to ask or how.

"I don't know." Surgeon sighed. "I know human ailments. Her readings are far closer to ours than they were. Do you know what she did?"

"She killed José." Mishka took her mom's hand in her own and held it loosely. "It had to be done, but it will have hurt her."

"It did." Inaros' voice preceded the ancient Guardian into the room. "But she will be all right, Caretaker Mishka. Trinity saw to that."

" _Trinity_?" Mishka said weakly. Sean and Inaros nodded as one and Mishka smiled a bit forlornly. "Well, if you have to trust _someone,_ one of the First is a good choice."

"She has had to end lives before." Inaros' words were not a question, but Mishka nodded anyway. "Well, _this_ time, she will take the time to recover. She and Sean both will." Sean stiffened, but Inaros held up a hand. "That is not from me, Tenno Sean. That is from the First Tenno. Argue with _him_ if you wish."

"Ah...No." Sean said after a bare moment's thought.

"Smart Tenno." Inaros bowed to Mishka who stared at him, flabbergasted. "Your mother will always be welcome in the lands I protect, Caretaker. You as well."

"I have my duty." Mishka said softly as she rubbed Iriana's hand. "But for the courtesy, I thank you. Mom will need to go back to the dojo eventually and I will have to get back to work."

"I know not what you Caretakers must do to preserve your charges." Inaros said with a nod. "But you and yours have proven steadfast allies in this horrible episode." Sean looked at him oddly but the Guardian shook his head. "The Caretaker's secrets are theirs to give or hold. I have no right to do so."

"What of me?" Sean asked. "I am... my past is known and far worse than I expected. Now no one will trust me."

"You might be surprised, Tenno Sean." Inaros replied. "Caretaker Mishka, Healer Iriana will sleep for some time. At least a day. She needs it. If she is disturbed in her rest by nightmares or whatever..." He placed a scarab behind the slumbering Healer's ear. He handed a twin of the tiny robot to Mishka who stared at it. "This will notify you, Caretaker. You and Sean should witness what comes next."

"Next?" Mishka gave her mom's hand another squeeze and then released it to set it down beside Iriana.

"The duel was to the death, but the one who called it did not specify the same stipulations that you did, Tenno Sean." Inaros shook his head. "I have no doubt he _would_ have if the Healer had given him time." He reached down to touch Iriana's hand. "But your mother stopped him, Caretaker. He has been revived."

"Then... this will happen again." Sean slumped.

"No." Inaros promised. "It will not." Mishka stared at him and then blanched. He bowed to her. "Yes. She cut his neural feeds. Permanently. He will never wear a warframe again. He is not longer Tenno, so even if he _does_ manage to challenge, no one need accept it."

"She did that..." Sean staggered and Mishka reached up to steady him. "For _me_?"

"No." Inaros reached out to pat his arm. "She did it for _all_ Tenno, not just you. But the second phase of the other's punishment is starting. You need to see. We asked the Elders and they approved us taking him." Mishka jerked, but then nodded slowly.

"He did harm to two of your people." Mishka said softly. "You asked for restitution."

"We did." Inaros agreed.

"Restiti-" Sean stared at Inaros. "You didn't."

"Tenno Sean, the Healer killed him and tore his neural feeds asunder. He is not Tenno anymore." Inaros sighed heavily. "It is a sad day for we lost a brother. He will serve out the rest of his existence as a human helping this colony survive."

"They..." Mishka was shaking now. "You..."

"Caretaker." Inaros was sad, so sad. "What else could we do? He is no longer Tenno. The Healer demanded that he be reduced to human. That his energy be sealed inside a human body." Sean inhaled in shock and Mishka was crying softly. Inaros took her hands in his. "No one wanted this. Least of all your mother. But this had to end. And with his actions, it could only end one way."

"For someone who considered himself better than everyone else..." Sean was still in shock. "To be trapped like that is a horror beyond imagining."

"We are not cruel, Tenno Sean." Inaros gave Mishka's hands a squeeze. "We have removed his memory." Sean recoiled a bit but then nodded. "He will live and die a human. Come. See for yourself."

Mishka didn't want to leave her mother's side, but Inaros pulled her gently and she followed. Sean walked without any goading. Outside of the room, Jasmina stood, her posture still. She took Mishka from Inaros and enfolded the girl in her arms.

A door nearby stood open and a familiar pitch black Nekros stood with an unfamiliar Loki. None one spoke as Inaros strode to the door. Jasmina guided Mishka as Sean followed. The room Inaros led them into was small and felt very cramped with four warframes and two others in it. None one minded.

The only furniture in the room was a boxy thing that lay on the floor. It was open on top and low enough that all could see within. A mass of scarabs ebbed and flowed inside it. Inaros looked at the Loki who nodded. The ancient Guardian then looked at Nikis who made a 'get on with it' gesture. Inaros nodded and waved the others to stand by the wall. No one argued.

The bandaged form of the Grineer that had been enslaved entered the room, ignoring everyone in it as she strode to the box. She reached down into it and the scarabs retreated from her hands. She flipped something and the scarabs retreated further, showing a human form lying in the box. Mishka inhaled as the face became visible. José. He wore the same kind of golden collar as the Grineer as well as some kind of eye covering.

"Your shift begins in five minutes." The Grineer said calmly as she stepped back from the box. "Work and be tended. Refuse and be punished."

"I cannot see." The being who had been Tenno said just as calmly.

"Your eyesight will return shortly." The Grineer pulled Jose up and out of the box. His body was covered by the same bandages as the Grineer. "Come." She pulled him along and the pair left the room.

Mishka was staring after the pair in shock as Jasmina held her. Sean looked just as horrified. Nikis and the Loki looked at one another, nodded once to Inaros and left the room.

"If he... is human..." Mishka said weakly. Jasmina gave her a hug.

"Even if he was other than human when he committed them..." Inaros reached out to take her hand. "His crimes would merit the death penalty in this colony. I am not saying that this is right. It is not. What I am saying is that we will use him until he dies."

"And how long will _that_ be?" Sean managed through clenched teeth.

"A few centuries." Inaros admitted. "It took a great deal of debate to reach consensus. The people here are just as emotional as any. In the end, we asked the two he hurt. Ellen wanted him dead. Pip did not."

"Pip is just a kid." Mishka said weakly. Inaros squeezed her hands.

"A kid who grew up fast when he saw his mother shot." Inaros slumped a bit. "We have asked him and Ellen if he wants to remember what happened. Ellen wants him to forget. He hasn't decided yet."

"Are they... here?" Mishka asked. "I would like to talk to them." Inaros looked at Jasmina who nodded. "I am right here!" Mishka said savagely.

"Mishka, they were both hurt very badly." Jasmina gave the girl a hug. "Ellen physically, Pip emotionally. You are strong, but as in everything, there are limits. We are not coddling you or being overprotective. We are worried. You are too much like your mom. You will want to help them even if it hurts you." Mishka had no answer to that and Jasmina hugged her again.

"Come." Inaros led the way to the door. The others followed. He led them into another room where two beds had been laid. Ellen slept on one. Pip lay awake on the other, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Pip?"

 _Guardian..._ Pip's normally exuberant voice was a shadow of a whisper. _It hurts._ Mishka's hand flew to her throat as she realized something. The voice hadn't been audible! He _was_ a telepath.

"Oh, Pip." Inaros went to the boy's bedside and took his hand in both of the warframe's. "I can try to block it for a time. The Healer said she can help. She will when she wakes."

 _She... hurts._ Pip's voice was a little stronger. _She is crying inside and no one can hear._

 _We hear._ Inaros spun as Mishka and Jasmina both stiffened. Sean froze as he too realized it wasn't either of them speaking. No. it was something speaking _through_ them. _Ah, child. Your pain calls to us. We are helping the Healer. We can help you. Will you let us?_ Inaros stared at the two Caretakers and then bowed to them and stepped away from Pip's bed.

 _Can you take this away?_ Pip begged. _I don't wanna scare people._ For a moment, he sounded his true age.

 _No._ The mass mind said sadly. _It is part of who you are, young man. We cannot take it without harming you permanently._ Pip slumped but the mass mind wasn't done. _What we can do is dampen it. Let you come to terms with it. Grow into it. This ability is not native to humans, but some have managed to learn to live with it. It will not be easy._

 _I don't want to live like this!_ Pip begged. _Please end this?_

 _Child._ The mass mind's voice turned stern. _You would leave your mother alone? You would leave all the people who love you to grieve?_

Pip started to cry and Mishka moved to his bedside. She sat carefully beside him, minding his bandaged wounds. She pulled him up into her arms, murmuring comfort as she stroked his hair.

 _You are singing._ Pip sounded confused. _How are you singing in your mind?_

"I never stop." Mishka admitted. "I can't. It is as much a curse as a blessing. Do you like it? I can sign other things."

 _It is beautiful._ Pip said softly. _Can... I learn to sing like that?_

"I don't know."Mishka kept stroking his hair and his body slowly relaxed. "Maybe. It would take a lot of time. Years. You would have to stick around and it would be a lot of work."

 _I..._ Pip swallowed hard. _I can't leave Mom alone. I don't want to die._

" _ **Then live.**_ " Mishka's voice was resonant with the energy of the mass mind as power flowed through her and into Pip. He jerked once and then relaxed.

"I..." Pip's audible voice was more of what everyone remembered. "It is gone?" He gave a sigh and slumped. Mishka laid him carefully back on the bed.

"We shielded you from the worst of it." Mishka's tone was odd. It was audible, but with undercurrents. It was not imbued with power as it had been, but it felt...good. "It's not gone, just pushed far away. You may hear murmurs, you may feel things, but they will not overwhelm you. Pip, you do not need to remember what happened. Your mother does not want you to remember what happened."

"Everyone will forget if I do." Pip tensed again, but Mishka kept stroking his hair and he relaxed. "I... I am angry."

"You have a right to it. Your mother is alive, Pip." Mishka said in that soft but resonant tone. "So are you. The one who hurt you has been punished. Let go, Pip. Let go of your anger before it hurts you. Be who you are, not what anyone else demands you be." She was stunned as Pip surged up in the bed to hug her tight. He was crying again. "Pip, pip, easy. It is all right."

"You remind me so much of my sister." Pip spoke through his tears. "She was nice to me. And now she is gone." Mishka held him as he cried. Inaros and Sean did not move. "If I forget, who will remember?"

"I will." Mishka promised. "You need to rest and get better. Your mom will need you." She could feel when his resistance faded and he accepted the choice. She looked at Inaros and nodded. The Guardian nodded back. "Lie back, Pip. Inaros will help you."

"I am afraid." Pip said softly, not letting Mishka go.

"You do not need to be." Inaros stepped forward, his hand reaching out to cup Pip's cheek. "Do not cry, child. It will be all right."

"Why does it hurt so much, Guardian?" Pip pleaded as Mishka laid him back down, lying beside him to hold him as Inaros laid both hands on his skull.

"Pain is part of the price of being mortal, Pip." Inaros said sadly as energy started to collect around his hands. "We live, we love, we hurt. But it is better than oblivion. Good night, Pip."

Whatever Pip was going to say in answer vanished with his consciousness.

Mishka stayed beside Pip as Inaros did what he did. Only when the Guardian stepped back did she lean in to lay a kiss on Pip's cheek. The boy murmured in his sleep and rolled over. Inaros helped her to stand and they left the room. Jasmina and Sean followed.

"That was kind, Caretaker. Thank you." Inaros said into the silence.

"Is Pip the only child here?" Jasmina asked after a moment. Inaros nodded. "That will be rough for him."

"Three family groups have started already." Inaros said with a hint of pride. "And two other women are expecting. But those will be five years younger than him."

"An older brother is not always bad thing." Jasmina said a bit absently. "I do know of some orphaned children who might need homes." Inaros jerked and stared at her. "This place is safer than many."

"Orphans, you say?" Inaros asked even as Mishka hissed and glared at the Ember. "Caretaker Mishka?"

"And what does she want for it?" Mishka demanded. Jasmina shrugged and Mishka actually snarled. "Don't you _dare_ saddle these people with the broken ones without even an explanation."

"'Broken ones'?" Sean and Inaros bother inquired. Jasmina waved at Mishka and the younger Caretaker gave a grunt, relaxing a little.

"There are various places that take in orphans." Mishka said with a hint of annoyance. "I was in one once. It wasn't a lot of fun." Sean stared at her and Mishka sighed. "Long story."

"I like long stories." Inaros said with perfect aplomb. It was deadpan enough that Mishka barked a laugh and relaxed completely. "So, these children are hurt?"

"Many of them, yes." Mishka said with a frown. "The orphanage I dealt with was run by the Corpus, a tech cult that worships money. The idea was that the kids be given an education and trained to join the workforce. But the ones running the orphanage do not always see eye to eye with the ones running the _cult_."

"That... could get dangerous." Inaros commented. Mishka nodded. "How many? Children that is?"

"There were seventy six kids when I was there, counting me. All ages." Mishka said softly. Inaros recoiled a bit and Mishka nodded. "The number fluctuated but the ones running it handled things well." She smiled in fond memory. "It wasn't a bad place but it wasn't permanent and everyone knew it."

"We couldn't handle seventy six kids here." Inaros sounded regretful. "Sometimes, we can barely handle _Pip._ "

"Isn't that part of the definition of a five year old?" Mishka asked slyly and Inaros chuckled. "Could you make space for ten or so? The idea took me by surprise, but this is a safe place."

"Caretaker..." Inaros looked away from the other three. "I couldn't let them leave and we are all busy. Who would take care of them?"

"I would." Sean said quietly. All eyes turned to him. "If I go back out, the ones who think like José will use me for target practice. After all, it was _my_ fault that _he_ was a moron." He shrugged. "How hard can it be?" He was not expecting Mishka, Jasmina and Inaros to all three groan in unison. "What?"

"Like a lamb to the slaughter." Mishka said to Inaros.

"Kids are a _lot_ of work." Inaros warned Sean. "Even when they are not hurt or broken, they can be a lot of work. Emotionally, physically, spiritually? A lot of work."

"I am not afraid of a bunch of kids." Sean said with a grunt only to freeze as Jasmina swatted his arm.

"You should be." Jasmina warned. "Especially the girls. _Adolescent_ girls in particular."

"Uh... because they are still growing?" Sean asked. Mishka laughed loud at that and he stared at her. "What?"

"No. Because _most_ of them haven't learned to use their powers for _good_."

* * *

Titan

 _And... done._

The huge finned form slid through the ocean, holding tight to the mind that she had managed to pull in with the help of other worried parties.

 _Rest in the arms of those who love you, Iriana my dear._ She told the sleeping Healer as she eased the Healer's mind as only the preeminent Oracle of Saturn could. _You have earned it and_ **more** _. Tenno are just as mortal as any if differently mortal, but we work hard to keep you going when you need it. For we need you. Now more than ever. We will not let you pass again without striving all we can. Rest, Healer. I have you. We have you.  
_

 _We will keep a closer eye on her, Janet._ A familiar voice sounded in the whale's mind. _We won't let her work herself to death again. Will you tell them?_

 _No. Nikis knows she passed the threshold at the dojo before I screamed and the mass mind pulled her back. He won't say._ Janet replied. _We need her and she would be horrified if she realized what happened. How far she fell. But this is our job, Lotus. To take care of our children. To restore their hope when it is lost._

 _Yes Janet._ The guide of the Tenno said gently. _To show them that even if they_ **are** _mortal, they are not alone._


End file.
